JAKARTA: International guests might be barred from coming into Indonesia for two-week in a bid to stem the spread of a new potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus, its foreign minister Retno Marsudi mentioned on Monday (Dec 28).
The new regulation, effective Jan 1, comes days after Indonesia banned travelers from Britain and tightened guidelines for these arriving from Europe and Australia to restrict the spread of the new strain.
Indonesia earlier this yr banned all overseas travelers from entry however some exemptions have been made for business travelers.
The new regulation applies to all international guests, apart from high-level authorities officials or foreigners with residency permits, she mentioned.
The world’s fourth most populous nation has struggled to include the spread of the novel coronavirus since recording its first case in March, now with 719,219 confirmed infections and 21,452 deaths, among the many highest in Asia.
It announced 5,854 new infections and 215 deaths on Monday, with the positivity rate above 20 percent in recent days.
In the latest weeks, Indonesia’s healthcare system has come under strain with hospitals on Java island forced so as to add more beds as emergency wards close to capacity.
Senior health ministry official Abdul Kadir on Monday mentioned hospitals were in danger of becoming overwhelmed by a possible year-end vacation infections spike, with occupancy within the capital Jakarta already reaching 84 percent.
In West Java, Indonesia’s most populated province, hospital occupancy is at present at 83 percent, and in East Java, 77 percent, he mentioned.
“Which means that these areas are within the red zone. The bed capacity is now in the red zone. Any uptick will overwhelm hospitals,” he mentioned, including that 500 beds could be added in the higher Jakarta area.
A complete of 589,978 patients have recovered from the disease after 6,302 more individuals have been added to the tally on Monday.
