Prevent Corona, Government Temporarily Bans Tourists From China

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi during a press conference regarding the corona virus case (Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

JAKARTA - The government officially states that anyone who holds a Chinese passport or has recently traveled to mainland China is prohibited from entering Indonesian territory. This policy was taken after the outbreak of the corona virus case in the Bamboo Curtain country and resulted in hundreds of deaths.

"All immigrants who arrived from mainland China and have been there for 14 days, are temporarily not allowed to enter and transit in Indonesia," said Foreign Minister (Menlu) Retno Marsudi to reporters at Halim Perdanakusumah Base, East Jakarta, Sunday. , February 2.

In addition to the prohibition, Retno also said the government had stopped the visa-free and visa-on-arrival policies for Chinese citizens. However, it is not yet known how long this policy will run.

Not only that, a number of direct flights to and from China were also temporarily suspended by the government due to the spread of the virus.

"Direct flights to and from China are temporarily suspended. Starting on Wednesday (February 5) at 00.00 WIB," said Retno.

The restrictions imposed by the Indonesian government were later appreciated by the member of Commission I DPR RI, Charles Honoris. According to him, measures to restrict the entry of Chinese citizens or passport holders and those who have recently traveled from the country are the right steps.

"This shows that the safety of Indonesian citizens is a top priority for the Indonesian government," said Charles in a written statement received by VOI, Sunday, February 2 and added that the Indonesian government would certainly offer various kinds of assistance to the Chinese state as a form of solidarity.

It is known, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the corona virus which spread from the capital city of Hubei Province, China, namely the City of Wuhan as an international emergency. Although not suggesting the state to close off the border access with the Bamboo Curtain country.

However, apart from Indonesia, a number of countries had already implemented restrictions and even prohibited visits for tourists from China, such as New Zealand, North Korea, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and a number of other countries.

As for the total cases of the corona virus in the world, from the gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com site there were 14,628 cases recorded. The most cases of the corona virus were recorded in mainland China with 14,451 cases.

Furthermore, Japan recorded 20 cases of corona virus, Thailand 19 cases, Singapore 18 cases, South Korea 15 cases, Hong Kong 14 cases, Australia 12 cases, Taiwan 10 cases.

Meanwhile, in Germany, Macau, America, Malaysia there were 8 cases. Then, France and Vietnam with 6 cases, Arab Emirates 5 cases, Canada 4 cases, Italy, Russia, Philippines, India, England 2 cases, Nepal, Cambodia, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Sri Lanka recorded 1 case. Meanwhile, Indonesia has yet to record a corona case.

The number of survivors of the virus as of Sunday, February 2 was recorded at 348 people. This figure is considered higher than the death toll, which currently reaches 305 people.

It's just that, as reported by Reuters, the Southeast Asia region has recorded a death toll from this virus. This is because a corona virus sufferer died after receiving treatment in the Philippines.

The patient who died was 44 years old and male. He is not a native of the Philippines but a migrant from Wuhan City, China.

He came with a friend, a 38-year-old woman who was also diagnosed with a virus thought to have originated in an animal market in Wuhan City. The two men arrived in the Philippines after passing through Hong Kong on 21 January.