The Governor Of West Sumatra Affirms Chinese Tourists Welcome At The Airport Clean From The Corona Virus

PADANG - This morning, Sunday, January 26, West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno welcomed the arrival of 174 tourists from Kunming, China at Minangkabau International Airport in Padang Pariaman.

This reception has raised concerns among the public. The reason is, currently the world is on alert for the spread of the corona virus originating from the city of Wuhan, China.

Irwan admits that it is impossible for him to refuse the arrival of the tourist group who will tour for five days in West Sumatra. Given, West Sumatra has an interest in increasing regional income from the tourism sector.

Irwan ensured that health workers carried out strict checks on tourists. When they pass through immigration checks, their body temperature is checked using a thermal scanner.

"So, it is not permissible to refuse people to come if the conditions are complete. Apart from that, anticipation has also been made by conducting a strict examination," said Irwan in a statement received by VOI.

Continuing, PT Marawa Coporate as the travel agency that brings Chinese tourists to West Sumatra ensures that those who will visit are not infected with the corona virus which is currently endemic in the Bamboo Curtain country.

The head of PT Marawa Corporate Darmawi said that all Chinese foreigners departed from Kunming Airport in Yunan Province, which is in the mountainous region of China via direct flights within four hours of travel.

According to him, the location is very far from the Wuhan area which is about 19 hours away and those leaving for West Sumatra must go through an inspection at Kunmin Airport. Moreover, at this time Kunmin Airport is still opening overseas flights, which means that the location is not exposed to the corona virus.

"After they pass the medical test, they are allowed to enter the plane and they will go through four trips with direct flights from Kunmin to BIM in Padang Pariaman Regency," Darmawi said.

Arriving at BIM, the travel agency has coordinated with the West Sumatra Provincial Government, airport authorities, Angkasa Pura II, the Port Health Office (KKP) and others to re-examine the foreign citizen.

They will again undergo a series of checks at BIM, starting from temperature scanners and others. After they pass, they are allowed to go to the Immigration.

"This means that they have passed two checks both in China and in West Sumatra. Apart from that, we have coordinated with the tour agents there. If someone is sick, you don't have to join this tour, "he concluded.

For information, the death toll in China due to the outbreak of a new type of corona virus that attacks the lungs has increased to 52 people by Sunday morning. In fact, three Beijing doctors tested positive after returning from Wuhan, Hubei Province, as the first area where the case was found.

The state television China Global Television Network reported that Liang Wudong, a 62-year-old doctor at the Hubei Xinhua Hospital who is at the forefront of the outbreak in Wuhan City, died of the coronavirus.

Media in China, namely the South China Morning Post, said Liang died on Saturday, January 25 at 07.00 local time. Liang is suspected of being infected with the corona virus since last week.

Previously, Liang was treated at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan for further medical treatment, but his life was still beyond help. Liang's passing marked the first death among medical professionals since the coronavirus broke out in China.

Overall, the virus outbreaks totaled 1,287 cases, both positive and suspected, throughout mainland China. Of that number, 549 of them were from Hubei Province and 85 people have tested negative and have been allowed to leave for hospitals.

Meanwhile, in Beijing there are 10 new cases, including three doctors, so to date the total is 51 cases. Of the three doctors from Beijing who contracted the 2019-nCoV virus, two of them had traveled to Wuhan, while the other had sat with a sufferer at one of the meetings in Wuhan, as reported by CGTN, the official Chinese government television station.