Bringing A Message From Jokowi, Luhut Asks Indonesian Citizens To Refrain From Going Abroad To Suppress The Spread Of Omicron

President Joko Widodo (Photo: RI Cabinet Secretariat)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo asked Indonesian citizens (WNI) not to travel abroad. This is to suppress the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 that has entered Indonesia.

This was conveyed by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, after a limited meeting at the Presidential Palace.

"The president specifically emphasized that we are advised to refrain for the next few weeks not to go abroad", Luhut said in a virtual press conference, Monday, January 10.

Although currently Omicron has spread through local transmission, Luhut emphasized that the current trend of increasing COVID-19 cases in Indonesia is caused by foreign travel agents (PPLN).

The confirmed cases of PPLN also dominate the proportion of daily cases, causing an increase in active cases and patient care in Java-Bali, which is again caused by foreign travelers.

For example, in Jakarta, the daily increase in COVID-19 reached 393 cases on January 9, nearly 300 of which were caused by foreign travelers.

"Once again, we ask our friends to refrain from traveling abroad unless it is very, very important", said Luhut.

It is known, the Ministry of Health noted that there are currently 414 cases of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 or Omicron in Indonesia as of January 8. The majority of cases are travelers from abroad.

Currently, Omicron has spread to 150 countries in the world. Most of them infected various developed countries until they reached their peak and were higher than the previous wave, namely the Delta variant.

This increase also directly increases hospital care, especially in the United States, Australia, and countries in Europe. Another upward trend occurred in India, the Philippines, and Japan.