Making Anxious, The Ministry Of Health Called 127 Indian Citizens Exodus To Indonesia Using Charter Planes

JAKARTA - As many as 127 Citizens from India exodus to Indonesia using charter planes and equip themselves with Kitas (Limited Stay Permit Cards) amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.

"Yes, they went through Soekarno-Hatta Airport on a charter plane from India on April 21, 2021, at 19.30 on the QZ9BB ex MMA charter plane", said the Head of the Sub-Directorate of Health Quarantine, Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health, Benget, via Short message reported by Antara, Friday, April 23.

According to Benget, hundreds of Indian citizens were allowed to enter Indonesian territory because they were equipped with Kitas that was given by the relevant authorities to foreigners who would stay in Indonesia for several months.

"The number of Indian foreigners is 127 people. Yes, they allowed because have Kitas", he said.

However, the Ministry of Health has taken anticipatory steps by requiring them to undergo quarantine for 5x24 hours. Health workers also carry out swab checks twice on arrival at the hotel and the fifth day of the quarantine process.

"In the hotel, it is not allowed to leave the room and if there is a positive swab examination result, isolation will be carried out in the health facility until it is cured. For PCR results with a CT value of less than 30, genome sequencing surveillance will be carried out in Health Research and Development Agency to see new variants", he said.

Separately, Professor of Lung, Faculty of Medicine at University of Indonesia Tjandra Yoga Aditama said India is currently experiencing a second wave of COVID-19 cases.

"Last April 22 India recorded the highest daily number of COVID-19 cases so far, which is more than 314 thousand people. I contacted my friends in New Delhi and there were dozens of people who were infected with COVID-19, both Indonesians and Indians as well citizens of other countries", he said.