Minister Luhut: Starting July 6 Foreigners Entering Indonesia Must Show Vaccine Cards

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, emphasized that as of July 6, 2021, all foreign citizens (WNA) entering Indonesia must have a vaccine card or proof.

"All foreigners who come to Indonesia, starting from July 6, 2021, must show a vaccine card (fully vaccinated) and a negative PCR result for COVID-19 before entering Indonesia", said Spokesperson for Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Jodi Mahardi, Sunday, July 4.

"Exemptions for vaccine certificates are granted to diplomats and visiting foreign officials at the ministerial level by diplomatic relations practices that are also applied by other countries", he added.

Meanwhile, Minister Jodi explained, for Indonesian citizens who will enter Indonesia but have not yet obtained a vaccine card, they must first show a negative PCR for COVID-19 before arrival, and after being quarantined, proven PCR negative will be immediately given and carried out the vaccine.

"Quarantine rules, both for foreigners and Indonesian citizens, will undergo quarantine for 8 days with 2 PCR tests, namely upon arrival and on the 7th day", he explained.

As for the quarantine limit for 8 days, this is by the direction of the Ministry of Health with the following considerations:

1. It is necessary to tighten the quarantine period for international travelers as a form of increasing awareness in dealing with variants of concern.

2. The median incubation of the SARS-CoV-2 variants Delta and Alpha is 4 days. Thus, the 8-day quarantine period covers twice the median incubation period of the virus.

3. The 8-day quarantine is carried out with a combination of entry and exit RT-PCR testing which is carried out at the time of arrival of the traveler (the first day) and repeated on the 7th day.

4. Entry testing is carried out to detect as early as possible the potential for transmission from travelers.

5. Exit testing is carried out on the 7th day to wait for the virus incubation period, in anticipation of the virus not being detected in the first test.

6. The combination of quarantine and entry-exit testing (days 1 and 7) can prevent post-quarantine transmission, with a probability of transmission < 0.25 percent.

7. The implementation of quarantine for travelers needs to be carried out in a strict and disciplined manner, to avoid transmission during the quarantine period.