19 Migrant Workers Who Entered West Kalimantan Turned Positive For COVID-19

Lustrasi COVID-19. (Wikimedia Commons / Mstyslav Chernov)

JAKARTA - A total of 36 Indonesian Migrant Workers who entered from PLBN Entikong to West Kalimantan were tested positive for COVID-19.

"Based on the examination carried out on PMI entering the Entikong route on Wednesday, after being examined, 36 people were tested positive for COVID-19", said the Head of the West Kalimantan Health Service, Harisson in Pontianak, Antara, Friday, October 1.

Harisson hopes that Indonesian Migrant Workers who return to Indonesia and enter West Kalimantan will really ensure their health so that they do not carry the new variant of the COVID-19 virus.

According to him, every PMI who wants to enter through the PLBN based on the procedures set by the COVID-19 Task Force must show a negative COVID-19 PCR certificate from Malaysia.

"If the negative is only allowed to enter Indonesia, at the border we will do the PCR test again, from these results if there is a positive then quarantine will be carried out there. Then the negative one is brought to Pontianak City to be quarantined again for eight days at Human Resources Training Agency, Education Quality Assurance Institute and the isolation place belongs to the West Kalimantan Provincial Government", he said.

In fact, Harisson said, after eight days of quarantine, the PMIs were again subjected to PCR tests. If negative then allowed to go home.

This procedure has been carried out by his party under the command of the Commander of the Tanjungpura Regional Military Command XII as the Head of the Special Task Force for Handling COVID-19 at the border.

However, his party regretted it because previously during a visit to West Kalimantan, the Minister of Transportation asked PMI (Indonesian Red Cross) who were quarantined not to be brought to Pontianak City and only to Aruk and Entikong.

"Initially we just followed it, when in fact we already have experience related to it. Because the quarantine places in Aruk and Entikong are not adequate", he said.

The PMIs, he said, were placed in hangars and warehouses so that there could be a buildup because the PMIs who came in a day could reach 100 people.

Based on a logical calculation, if PMI has to undergo quarantine for eight days, at least the quarantine place will be filled with 800 to 1000 people.

"This has caused West Kalimantan to be in the spotlight that PMI is actually crowded and congested so that it is prone to transmission. For this reason, the Governor of West Kalimantan and the Commander of Military Area Command XII Tanjungpura ordered PMI to be quarantined in Pontianak City with three-star hotel facilities", said Harisson.