COVID-19 Updates: Indonesia Bars Arrivals from England and Denmark from Entering Borders

JAKARTADAILY.ID - The Indonesian government has added England and Denmark to the list of countries whose citizens are temporarily banned from entering Indonesia because these countries are reported to be exposed to Omicron on a significant scale.

"Foreigners from Britain and Denmark are also temporarily unable to enter Indonesian territory due to a large number of confirmed cases," said Head of the Public Relations Sub-Division of the Directorate General of Immigration of the Republic of Indonesia, Achmad Nur Saleh. Achmad said this in a press release published by the Directorate General of Immigration on Monday.

Also Read: COVID-19 Update: Indonesia Reports 46 Omicron Cases

In the same press release, it is said that the Omicron variant first appeared in South Africa. Cases of the new variant of Covid-19 have now been confirmed in the UK and Denmark with more than 10,000 cases.

Responding to the dynamics of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 variant, the Government of Indonesia issued a policy prohibiting the entry of foreigners into Indonesia through the Covid-19 Task Force Circular Number 26 of 2021 concerning Health Protocols for Overseas Travel During the 2019 Corona Virus Disease Pandemic.

Also Read: Indonesian Authorities Wary of Omicron as Travel Increases

Achmad added that there were adjustments regarding countries whose citizens were prohibited from entering Indonesian territory. The Covid-19 Task Force (SE Satgas) Circular Number 26 of 2021 states, temporarily closing the entry of foreign nationals, either directly or in transit in other countries. Those who have traveled in the past 14 days have visited South Africa, Botswana and Norway, where community transmission of the new variant of Covid-19 has been confirmed.

Not only that, continued Achmad, countries that are geographically close together are also the subject of a ban on entry to Indonesia. These countries are Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, and Lesotho.

Also Read: Minister of Health: Omicron Variant Discovered in Wisma Atlet, Jakarta

Exception

On the other hand, exceptions to restrictions on the entry of foreigners into Indonesian territory are granted to foreigners who meet the criteria according to the Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulation Number 34 of 2021, concerning Bilateral Agreement Schemes, which include for example for Travel Corridor Arrangements and obtaining special permission in writing from the Ministry or Institution. 

"We also need to emphasize that in the event that foreigners from countries suspected of having Covid-19 have not returned to their country for a long time, at least for more than 14 days, then they can enter Indonesian territory according to the applicable laws and regulations," concluded Achmad. (*)