Minister Luhut Bans State Officials Going Abroad To Prevent Omicron Transmission

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan/DOK VOI

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has prohibited state officials from traveling abroad to prevent the transmission of the Omicron variant that is currently spreading in a number of countries.

"State officials, in particular, are prohibited from traveling abroad," he said in a written statement quoted by Antara, Wednesday, December 1.

The prohibition against state officials applies to all levels of office, except for those carrying out important state duties.

Meanwhile, for the general public, Luhut appealed to the public not to travel abroad at this time.

"For the general public, it is still an advisory. So Indonesian citizens are advised not to travel abroad first, this is to prevent and keep the pandemic under control in this country," he said.

The government, according to Luhut, will now also prepare a third booster vaccine aimed at the elderly and vulnerable groups.

"The booster will be scheduled soon and will start in January next year," he explained.

Based on President Jokowi's directives, the quarantine period for foreigners and Indonesian citizens traveling from countries outside the 11 countries that are prohibited from entering will also be increased to 10 days from the previous 7 days.

This step was taken taking into account the increasing number of countries detecting Omicron variants. This quarantine extension will take effect from December 3, 2021.

"Of course, the policies taken will continue to be evaluated periodically while we continue to understand and explore information about this new variant," said Luhut.