The government will only foot the quarantine bill for Indonesian migrant workers (PMI), Indonesian students studying abroad, and state civil apparatus or government employees returning from official travel, the COVID-19 task force has said.
The government is providing centralized quarantine facilities for migrant workers, students, and civil service staff.
“Indonesian citizens who do not fall under (those three categories) are welcome to undergo quarantine in recommended hotels, which are providing the facility as part of a collaboration between the Task Force and the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI),” chairman of public communication for the task force, Hery Trianto, informed here on Tuesday.
The provision refers to Task Force’s Circular Letter No. 25 of 2021 on Health Protocols on International Travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was signed by the head of the COVID-19 Task Force, Suharyanto, on December 14, 2021, he said.
He issued the clarification after a recent build-up of travelers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport as many Indonesians returned to the country at the same time. Most of them were migrant workers, while the rest were ordinary travelers who were required to quarantine at hotels, he noted.
Responding to the build-up, the task force said it improved the registration procedure, added personnel and quarantine rooms to reduce queues. Thereafter, since Sunday (December 19, 2021), the quarantine process has been going smoothly, it added.
According to the task force, the quarantine provisions also apply to foreign nationals (WNA), including foreign diplomats, officers who are not heads of foreign representatives, and their family members. They are required to undergo quarantine in hotels recommended by the task force.
Meanwhile, foreign representative chiefs and their families who have jobs in Indonesia need to undergo self-quarantine at their residences for 10 x 24 hours, according to the task force.
For foreigners who cannot fund self-quarantine or treatment if confirmed positive for COVID-19, sponsors, ministries and institutions, and SOEs (state-owned enterprises) that give them the consideration of permits shall be responsible, the task force said.
According to PHRI data, as of Monday, the number of rooms available for quarantine stood at 29.66 percent, or 4,920. Meanwhile, occupied rooms accounted for 11,668 or 70 percent of the total 16,588 rooms.
Source: Antara News