Indonesia's Airport on High Alert to Prevent COVID-19 Entry
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10 December 2023 11:03 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Tangerang, Banten - The Port Health Office (KKP) at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia, stated on Saturday, December 9, 2023, that it is trying to prevent the entry of COVID-19 amid increasing cases of the viral disease in Singapore.
"This anticipation is a precautionary measure ahead of the year-end holidays. We are intensifying surveillance of domestic and foreign travelers," the office's head, Naning Nugrahini, said.
She said that the port health office has not detected any cases of the coronavirus.
However, seeing the high passenger movement, the KKP office has decided to remain vigilant and has prepared health facilities, such as health clinics, for passengers showing COVID-19 symptoms, she said.
"In this case, we have not found any passengers exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. If we find any, we will send them to the KKP clinic for a doctor's examination, including an antigen test," Nugrahini added.
Moreover, she said that her office is coordinating with a team of doctors to anticipate COVID-19 transmission by carrying out contact tracing and health tests for passengers.
The COVID-19 Control Task Force will also increase the enforcement of health protocols for passengers.
The anticipatory efforts against COVID-19 emergence during the holiday season will include the installation of body thermal scanners and the deployment of KKP officers at every terminal, she said.
Passengers at the airport are being reminded to comply with the health protocols, such as wearing masks, maintaining distance, and washing hands, she added.
"All airlines are advised to implement the health protocols," she stated.
According to Health Ministry data on December 6, the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia increased by 35–40, with the number of patient hospitalizations reaching 60–131 and the number of deaths rising by 0–3.
The current cases are dominated by the Omicron XBB 1.5 subvariant, which was responsible for the COVID-19 wave in Europe and the United States. In addition, the EG2 and EG5 subvariants have also been detected in some patients.
However, the number of COVID-19 cases is still lower than during the pandemic, when it reached 50,000–400,000 per week.
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