Accumulation Of Passengers At Airports Went Viral, PPP: Due To Government Slow To Anticipate Quarantine Handling

The East Java legislator assessed that the buildup could lead to the emergence of new clusters. Because he said, the passengers looked tired.

"This situation can even trigger the emergence of a new cluster of the spread of COVID-19 Omicron which we are currently preventing together. Moreover, the stamina of the passengers is at the peak of exhaustion due to the long journey on the plane, thus allowing their immune system to be not in top condition," Anas said.

Besides, continued Anas, the high cost of quarantine can also make passengers more miserable. Not to mention, the long PCR process and the lack of staff at the airport.

"The high cost of preparing the hotel quarantine, the proliferation of aji while staff selling food and drinks at exorbitant prices, the lack of staff at the airport prepared by the government, the long-winded handling of the PCR test, have made passengers even more miserable," said the PPP politician.

Therefore, Anas asked the government to act quickly to improve the situation. There is also a need for coordination between stakeholders so that the handling of this problem can run well.

"There must be a response and quick action from the apparatus to correct this situation as soon as possible. Coordination between stakeholders, immigration, the temple space, BNPB, TNI-POLRI, task forces, etc., must be strengthened without waiting for each other let alone throwing responsibilities at each other. This is an emergency situation that must be handled in an emergency manner," said Anas.

Previously, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan revealed that there were a number of Indonesian citizens (WNI) who had just returned from a vacation from abroad who refused to be quarantined at the hotel. This is in response to a viral video related to the accumulation of Indonesian workers (TKI) at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang.

Luhut said that those who had just returned from abroad for vacation and shopping purposes asked to be quarantined at the Athlete's House, rather than spending money to be quarantined at the hotel. In fact, they are able to quarantine at the hotel in accordance with applicable regulations.

"Many spread the video, it turns out that many are shopping abroad, shopping, they don't want to be quarantined in hotels even though they can. He asked for quarantine at Wisma Atlet because it's free," Luhut said in a press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel, Monday, December 20.