Omicron Variant Spreads, DPR Reminds Government To Pay Serious Attention To PMI In Hong Kong

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JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX DPR RI Kurniasih Mufidayati asked the government to pay attention and protect Indonesian citizens, especially Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) in Hong Kong. The reason is that cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which began to spread in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia, have also been reported to have spread in Hong Kong. He reminded, there are more than 170,000 PMI working in the country with the majority of women and work in the informal sector.

"The Omicor variant is included in the Variant of Concern (VOC) because it has a high transmission rate. Therefore, the government must pay attention to PMI friends there, starting from socializing on awareness of the Omicron variant," said Mufida in a statement, Tuesday, November 29.

According to the DKI Jakarta legislator, it is necessary to socialize the temporary ban on entry from Hong Kong to Indonesia which has just been issued by the government. In addition, spreading awareness information on Omicron variants throughout PMI.

He encouraged the Indonesian Consulate General to list PMIs whose contracts might expire and must return to Indonesia at this time. Next, provide temporary shelter assistance.

"For those who should go home but later this restriction rule is issued, the Consulate General must anticipate this, especially maybe for those who have expired contracts. Don't let it be neglected in someone else's country," said Mufida. "The vaccinations held by the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong in early August only reached 266 people. We hope that more than 70 percent of PMI friends in Hong Kong have received the vaccine. The Omicron variant is still being researched, so as much as we can do, we do it from the start,” he said.

On the other hand, Mufida also supports the government regarding the tightening of entry routes to Indonesia from countries where the Omicron variant is indicated. Moreover, it coincided with the momentum of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

"The only thing that remains is that the implementation in the field must be strict, minimizing leakage, as in the previous Delta outbreak in India, we leaked everywhere. We must maintain the COVID-19 control situation by implementing and supervising these strict rules," said Mufida.