Residents Who Were Observed In Natuna Were Immediately Returned To Their Respective Areas

Indonesian citizens from Wuhan who are quarantined in Natuna (Photo: Twitter @KemenkesRI)

JAKARTA - As many as 238 Indonesian citizens who are currently being observed at Raden Sadjad Air Base, Natuna Regency, will immediately be sent home to their respective areas of origin. They have been quarantined for 14 days to find out the presence of the corona virus (COVID-19) or not. They were quarantined because they came from the city of Wuhan, China - the place where the COVID-19 virus was spread.

Their repatriation is planned to be carried out on Saturday, February 15 at 12.00 WIB. They were escorted by three aircraft belonging to the Indonesian Air Force, two Boeing 737s and one Hercules aircraft. They will first be flown to Jakarta via Halim Perdanakusumah Airbase, East Jakarta, before they are actually repatriated.

"It means Saturday morning is the last check and after that we prepare them to prepare to return to Jakarta," said Secretary of the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Achmad Yurianto via teleconference at the Ministry of Health Office, Jalan Rasuna Said, Thursday, February 13 .

After arriving at Halim, the plan was for these hundreds of people to be immediately handed over to their respective regional governments. "When we arrive at Halim, our hope is that they (Pemda) will be there and pick them up right away," he said.

He asked people not to panic when accepting them back in their environment. Because, Yuri explained, they were confirmed to be healthy after carrying out a series of checks on their condition.

The flow of information regarding the #coronavirus case is so massive, so that the information circulating is not confusing and does not cause hoaxes so that it creates anxiety in the public, @KemenkesRI provides a #coronavirus hotline at the following number. Don't forget to save #Healthies! pic.twitter.com/L3uEeRlJXr

- Indonesian Ministry of Health (@KemenkesRI) January 28, 2020

Meanwhile, Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Doni Monardo at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for PMK said BNPB had prepared commercial airplane tickets for them to return to their respective hometowns.

"BNPB has prepared airplane tickets for our Indonesian citizens who will return to their hometowns. Then they will be arranged by representatives from each region to pick them up at Lanuh Halim Perdanakusumah upon arrival," he told reporters, Thursday, January 13.

East Java residents are the largest in this group. There are 65 residents of East Java who are also quarantined there. Of the 65 people, nine of them are students of the Surabaya State University.

The Governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, said that the East Java Provincial Government has coordinated, including with the Rector of Unesa, to welcome him.

"The Chancellor of Unesa has effective coordination. They have coordinated with their families to provide a conducive space. They have coordinated with the East Java Kadinkes," Khofifah explained to reporters, Thursday, February 13.

Based on existing data, 238 Indonesians who will now be sent home are spread across 29 provinces, namely: Aceh 13 people, Bali 2 people, Bangka Belitung 1 person, Banten 5 people. Then, Bengkulu and DIY 2 people, Gorontalo 1 person. Followed by DKI Jakarta with 16 people, Jambi 4 people, West Java 9 people, Central Java 10 people, East Java 65 people, West Kalimantan 4 people, East Kalimantan 15 people, South Kalimantan 8 people, North Kalimantan 19 people.

Then there were 4 people in Central Kalimantan, 2 people in Riau Islands, 1 person in Lampung, 4 people in NTB, 5 people in Papua, 9 people in West Papua, Riau 6 people. Continued in West Sulawesi 2 people, South Sulawesi 16 people, Central Sulawesi 2 people, Southeast Sulawesi 4 people, North Sumatra 4 people, and West Sumatra 1 person.