The Indonesian government has extended the quarantine requirement for international arrivals to seven days in response to concerns regarding transmission of the Omicron variant.
The Central government, through the Coordinator of Maritime and Investment Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has revised the entry requirement policy by extending the quarantine time for international travellers from three to seven days.
The government has already banned flights from a number of African countries, however travellers who have recently travelled from 11 countries with high risk of Omicron variant transmission such as Hong Kong, South Africa, Malawi, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho will now be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine upon arrival.
The World Health Organisation recently labelled the Omicron covid strain a variant of concern but has called for calm as medical research teams collect data and assess the likely impact of the new strain.
One of the most notable features of the Omicron variant is that it contains a number of new mutations and while early evidence suggests it is more highly transmissible than previous strains, most of the new cases have presented with only mild symptoms.
Researchers will be looking for further evidence of this as well as the level of protection offered by the currently available vaccines.
The latest tightening of restrictions will serve as a further blow to the Bali tourism sector, which has experienced a muted response to it’s reopening in mid October due to the previous three day quarantine requirement.
Bali will also face a partial lockdown over the Christmas holiday period as the central government attempts to restrict movement during this time in a bid to stem the spread of infection.
Source – The Star, Malaysia