Indonesia has put multiple health screenings in place for international travelers to prevent imported COVID-19 cases, spokesperson of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, has said.

“The mechanism has been regulated in the Task Force Circular Letter Number 20/2021 along with its addendum,” he remarked while delivering a press statement, accessed on the YouTube channel of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) here on Tuesday afternoon.

He made the statement in response to questions regarding the potential for the import of a new variant of coronavirus, AY.4.2, which was recently reported to have been detected in Malaysia.

The spokesperson informed that the multiple health screenings for travelers start with checks on their basic health condition at the arrival gate.

“Furthermore, they are required to do the after-arrival COVID-19 tests at the entrance point and carry out the self-quarantine,” he added.

In addition, he said that the duration of quarantine is different for international travelers who have been fully vaccinated and those who have not.

“The quarantine period is three days for those who have been fully vaccinated; meanwhile, those who have not been fully vaccinated will have to do it for five days,” he explained.

Furthermore, travelers are also required to undertake a second COVID-19 test after their arrival, he said.

Travelers who are required to conduct self-isolation for three days need to undertake the test on the third day, he added.

Meanwhile, for those who have to quarantine for five days, the test must be conducted on the fourth day, he said.

“Travelers are only allowed to leave the quarantine facility if the test results have been received stating that they are negative,” Adisasmito emphasized.

On average, the test results come out about 6 to 12 hours after a sample is taken, he informed.

“The government is committed to having the test results out as soon as possible,” he added.

Source: Antara News