3 Indonesian Citizens Who Are Prohibited From Returning To Indonesia Are Not Infected With The Corona Virus

Re-scanning process for Indonesian citizens arriving at Natuna (Twitter @ Ministry of Health)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) emphasized that three Indonesian citizens (WNI) who were prohibited from returning to Indonesia by the Chinese government did not have the corona virus. They just don't meet health standards.

Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and Indonesian Legal Entities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, said that they had been sent back to dormitories in Wuhan and Xianning.

"For these three friends, they do not meet the health requirements to fly. Therefore, it is prohibited to board a plane by the PRC authorities and return to the dormitory. The person concerned does not necessarily have the corona virus, no," said Judha at the Foreign Ministry Office, Gambir, Central Jakarta, Monday , February 3.

Judha explained, initially the three Indonesian students had been picked up by the evacuation team from the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) and were already at Wuhan Airport, Hubei Province.

However, they did not pass the health screening in the form of checking body temperature. Finally, they were prohibited from leaving Wuhan by the authorities of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

"They look like they are not fit, maybe, their bodies. Out of fever or coughing," he said.

Judha said, the most important thing that the government is doing at this time is to safeguard the logistical troops and the basic necessities of the three Indonesian citizens who cannot be repatriated. Apart from that, the government also took care of their mental condition.

"For that, we have prepared a team of psychologists who can provide counseling services via telephone to them," said Judha.

"The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing immediately contacted their respective dormitories as well as local residents to be able to help them," he added.

For information, the government has repatriated 238 Indonesian citizens from Hubei Province, China, related to the corona virus attack. However, there are seven people who cannot be returned to the country for various reasons.

Three people could not be sent home because they did not pass the scanning by the Chinese government so they were prohibited from leaving Wuhan. Meanwhile, the other four chose to stay in the city for their own reasons.

"If the four people do not want to go home for family reasons. Of course, it is a personal choice. Because the nature of this repatriation is voluntary repatriation," concluded Judha.