Quarantine Mafia Can Trigger COVID-19 Tsunami In Indonesia, UI Epidemiology: Ignoring Health Protocols Can Too!

Lustration-handling of COVID-19 patients. (Wikimedia Commons / US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sara Eshleman)

JAKARTA - The emergence of a quarantine mafia that has sent Indonesian citizens from India to avoid quarantine for 14 days is feared to be a trigger for an increase in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, especially Jakarta.

Because at this time, India is experiencing a tsunami case. On Monday, for example, the daily case broke 352.991. Meanwhile, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in India has reached 201.187 people with a total infection case of more than 18 million cases. One of the factors is viral mutations that are more quickly transmitted.

An epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia Pandu Riono thinks that the transmission of COVID-19 in India could occur in Indonesia. The reason is not only the quarantine mafia that only passes Indonesian citizens from India.

However, if people start to ignore the implementation of health protocols (Prokes).

"The surge occurred not only from cases of Indonesian citizens from India who bribed to avoid quarantine. But, it was more in increasing community activity and weakening the 3M implementation", Pandu told VOI, Thursday, April 29.

What is also important, according to Pandu, is that the government must immediately clean up cases of violation of the protocol for the entry of foreign travelers so that it does not happen again in the future.

In addition, ensure that all travelers from abroad carry out quarantine. "Quarantine for Indonesian citizens and non-Indonesian citizens must be strictly implemented. It cannot be ignored", he said.

It is known, the government officially closed access to foreigners who had been in India. The government has decided to stop granting visas to foreigners who have lived or visited Indian territory within 14 days.

Meanwhile, Indonesian citizens who are returning to their country and have stayed or visited India within 14 days are still allowed to enter Indonesia. However, the protocol was tightened.

The points of arrival that were opened were the airports of Soetta, Juanda, Kualanamu, Sam Ratulangi airports, then the seaports of Batam, Tanjungpinang and Dumai. While the land boundaries are Entikong, Nunukan, Malino.

Furthermore, the Indonesian citizen is required to quarantine for 14 days at a special hotel. Then, they must undergo a PCR swab test 2 times, a maximum of 2x24 hours before departure.