Minister Of Airlangga Says Nearly 50,000 Migrant Workers Enter Indonesia Ahead Of Eid Al-Fitr, COVID-19 Cases High In Arrival Areas

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto (right) accompanied by Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi gives a press statement (Photo: Doc. Cabinet Secretariat)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto explained that the government predicts that there are about 49,682 Indonesian workers who have been and will enter the country because their employment agreement has expired.

In detail, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said 24,215 of them had arrived in April. Another 25,467 people will be admitted by the end of May.

"It is necessary to anticipate the handling of the arrival, namely the implementation of strict health protocols," he said in a press statement received by VOI, Monday, May 10.

Airlangga added that the health protocol includes a 5-day quarantine in the arrival area and a PCR-Test for each person.

"The test results so far, positive cases of COVID-19 are quite high so it is necessary to anticipate the increase in cases in the arrival area of migrant workers," he said.

Some of the areas in the spotlight include North Sumatra, Riau (Dumai), Riau Island, North Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan, mainly related to the need for places for quarantine and treatment for positive migrant workers.

"Therefore, we together with the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) have also added bed capacity to accommodate migrant workers, for example in Pertamina Dumai Hospital and several other places," he said.

On this occasion, Minister Airlangga also explained about the government's preparations in handling COVID-19 in the period leading up to and after Eid al-Fitr 2021.

As of May 9, 2021, the number of active cases was recorded at 98,395 cases, equivalent to 5.7 percent of the total cases.

The causes include, among others, there are still 11 provinces out of 30 implementing provinces PPKM Mikro that experienced an additional increase trend of daily confirmation, and there are 5 provinces with a fairly sharp upward trend, namely: Riau Islands, Riau, South Sumatra, Aceh, and West Kalimantan.

"Most provinces in Sumatra have high cases of hospital occupancy, especially the place of income of migrant workers," he said.

Meanwhile, population mobility in 6 provinces of Java island did experience a significant increase ahead of Eid al-Fitr.

"Therefore, PPKM Mikro will be extended from 18 to 31 May 2021. The coverage of the area remains the same in 30 provinces, and the type of restrictions on community activities also remain the same. The government will also monitor and evaluate COVID-19 cases during homecoming and post-homecoming," he concluded.