So That Foreign Cruises Do Not Stop In The City Of Sabang

Photo illustration (Unsplash / Chris Karidis)

JAKARTA - The Sabang City Government has asked cruise ships from abroad not to come to their area until an indefinite time. This step was taken after the widespread spread of the corona virus which caused thousands of people to die.

From a circular number 556/0933 signed by the Mayor of Sabang, Nazaruddin and addressed to the Head of the Free Trade Area and Free Port Exploitation Agency (BPKS) of Sabang City.

The contents of the letter asked the Head of the Sabang City BPKS to postpone the arrival of the MS Artania Cruise Cruise Ship. This ship is planned to dock at the port of Sabang City on February 16 and carry 1,200 passengers.

"To minimize the risk of transmission of the corona virus (Covid 19) in the community and also to prevent unwanted things from happening for a while so that the arrival of cruise ships from abroad is temporarily postponed until the corona virus outbreak is declared safe by the WHO," as quoted by VOI from circular letter, Wednesday, February 12.

Regarding the circular, BPKS said that it would immediately follow up on the request of the Mayor of Sabang to postpone the visit of cruise ships, including MS Artania Cruise.

BPKS Head Razuardi represented by BPKS Commercial Deputy Agus Salim said that he would immediately discuss the request for the circular letter at a meeting to be held on Thursday, February 13.

"We will immediately follow up on the request of the Mayor of Sabang, considering that the interests of the people of Sabang are put forward. For this reason, everything related to postponement instructions to related parties will be discussed in a meeting which will be held tomorrow," Agus told reporters in his written statement , Wednesday, February 12th.

Furthermore, Agus said, BPKS will provide information related to this to the ship agency and will discuss in more detail the postponement to related parties.

"This will be important to follow up, considering that the Sabang Mayor's letter is also based on input from elements and elements of public figures, especially at this time WHO has not withdrawn its alert status for the corona virus case," he said.

Previously reported, the central government has also imposed an entry ban for those who hold national passports or those who have recently traveled in mainland China. In addition, the Indonesian government has stopped the visa-free and visa-on-arrival policies for Chinese citizens. However, it is not yet known how long this policy will run.

This restriction has an impact on Indonesian tourism. As a result, the government is now providing discounted flight ticket prices for those who wish to travel to Bali, North Sulawesi and Bintan for the next 30 days, although it is not yet known when it will be implemented.