An Indian Foreigner Boarded A Charter Plane Yesterday Carrying Mutations Of The B1617 Virus

Spokesperson for COVID-19 of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, in a statement to journalists in a virtual manner in Jakarta, Tuesday (4/5/2021). (Photo: Andi Firdaus / Antara).

JAKARTA - Director of Prevention and Control of Vector Transmitted and Zoonotic Diseases of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Siti Nadia Tarmizi said that the B1617 virus mutation had entered Indonesia.

This new COVID-19 variant is in the results of the whole genome sequencing test from one of the hundreds of Indian foreigners who recently boarded a charter plane to enter Indonesia.

"We got the B1617 mutation from the cluster of Indian foreigners who were busy yesterday, who left for Indonesia on April 10, 22 and 23," said Nadia in a YouTube broadcast by the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Tuesday, May 4.

B1617 is a virus mutation originating from India, the transmission of B1617 is one of the factors that caused the tsunami of COVID-19 cases in India. This virus has been found in at least 17 countries.

Nadia explained that currently the Indian foreigner who contracted B1617 was undergoing treatment at the hospital. Nadia said her condition was stable. "There are complaints, but very light," he said.

Then, there was another case B1617 which infected Indonesian citizens when tested. However, this Indonesian citizen was not part of the group of charter nurses from India. The Ministry of Health is still tracking the transmission of the case.

Previously, as many as 129 foreigners departed from India with negative COVID-19 test results before flying to Indonesia. When they arrived in Indonesia, they returned to the PCR swab test again. As a result, 12 people were positive for COVID-19.

Hundreds of these people traveled to Indonesia using the Air Asia QZ-988 charter plane which landed at Soekarno Hatta Airport on Wednesday, April 21. Currently, they are undergoing quarantine at the hotel for 5x24 hours. Then, a PCR swab will be performed again.

In fact, currently, in general, foreign citizens (WNA) are prohibited from entering Indonesia. This is stated in the Covid-19 Kasatgas Circular Letter Number 6 of 2021.

However, they do hold a Limited Stay Permit Card (KITAS) to settle in Indonesia. KITAS is one of the requirements for foreigners to enter Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst the ban.

Finally, the government issued a new policy that closed access to foreigners who had been in India within 14 days. This was done to prevent a spike in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, as a result of the surge in coronavirus cases that are currently happening in India.