Indonesia Aims at Scrapping Travel Quarantine Once Conditions Improve

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan on Monday said the government planned to no longer impose the international travel quarantine once the pandemic showed signs of improvements. He said travel quarantine may be dropped as soon as April 1, 2022.

“However, I would like to reiterate once again that this will depend on the situation related to the pandemic,” said the minister on February 14. Luhut currently oversees the enactment of public activity restrictions (PPKM) in Java and Bali.

Indonesia presently requires international travelers, both Indonesians and foreigners, to undergo five-day quarantine, which he hinted could likely be reduced to just three days as of March this year. 

He asserted that this would only apply to every Indonesian and foreigner who had received their COVID-19 booster jabs. “Indonesians or foreign nationals who have received their booster shots can have their quarantine period slashed to just three days. But with the condition that they conduct entry and exit tests,” he said in the press conference. 

Luhut urged people to remain vigilant but refrain from being overly frightened about the peak wave of the Omicron spread, which the government and experts predicted Indonesia is currently entering. 

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M FAIZ ZAKI