Aircraft Must Provide Quarantine Room For Passengers With COVID-19 Symptoms

Government Spokesperson for Handling COVID-19 Wiku Adisasmito/SPECIAL DOK

JAKARTA - The COVID-19 Task Force (Satgas) emphasizes that every aircraft is required to provide quarantine rooms for passengers who are confirmed positive for COVID-19 at the time of travel.

"There have been several efforts being made to minimize this transmission gap," said Government Spokesperson for Handling COVID-19 Wiku Adisasmito, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, March 15.

Wiku said that so that the country could go through the transition period from the COVID-19 pandemic to endemic, there were a number of efforts that made every activity run safely and remain productive.

One of them is closing the gap for COVID-19 transmission when traveling, such as in air transportation modes by providing three rows of empty seats which can later be used as quarantine areas for COVID-19 positive passengers.

In addition to passengers, the aircraft is also obliged to accommodate flight crews who have symptoms of COVID-19 by providing an independent isolation room during air travel.

The area, said Wiku, will be useful as a health protocol monitoring system that can reduce the risk of transmission when the government implements a number of relaxations for travelers from within and outside the country.

Due to the mode of transportation, it is no longer enforced to provide seating distances in it. Both air, land, sea and local rail transportation, urban areas with PPKM levels 1 and 2 as well as inter-city trains and commuter trains in one agglomeration area, so that ideal distance-keeping efforts are difficult to achieve.

Although layered policies continue to be drawn up and a number of relaxations are under government monitoring, Wiku asks individuals not to ignore health protocols before, during the trip and when they arrive at their destination.

Wiku hopes that all parties will remain disciplined in implementing health protocols and do not forget to immediately vaccinate to avoid the worst risks of COVID-19 and create a safe environment for groups that cannot be vaccinated.

“We can all start this adaptation by getting used to being honest and not traveling when sick. Discipline of complying with the rules of the transportation service provider that is set and showing the correct and official travel documents. Remember! being honest is healthy,” said Wiku.