Update on Indonesia Temporary Travel Ban
INDONESIA – The country implemented a travel ban on eight (8) African countries to prevent the entry of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
The COVID-19 pandemic remains the biggest challenge across the globe now. This pandemic that shook the healthcare systems of different nations cost millions of lives and continues to post health risks among the people.
Currently, nations are in pursuit to achieve herd immunity or population protection against the COVID-19 through vaccination. Different vaccine brands including Sinovac, Pfizer, Sinopharm, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Sputnik V, and Sputnik Lite were developed and they circulate across the globe.
Amid the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus mutated and several new variants were detected in some countries. One of those that became a global concern was the Delta variant which was found with a higher transmissibility rate.
Recently, another variant was detected in South Africa – the B.1.1.529 or recently named by the World Health Organization (WHO) Omicron. WHO warned countries to boost efforts to prevent the entry of the said variant of concern which was already recorded in South Africa and Hong Kong.
Several countries implemented travel bans to prevent the entry of Omicron variant. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Indonesia is currently implementing a temporary travel ban on travelers from eight (8) African countries such as the following:
- South Africa
- Botswana
- Namibia
- Zimbabwe
- Lesotho
- Mozambique
- Eswatini
- Nigeria
According to the report, the Indonesian citizens who will be arriving from the afore-mentioned countries and Hong Kong will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine in a facility. The senior ministers of the country said that the restrictions will be evaluated every two weeks.
With regards to the travelers from other countries, the required quarantine is raised from three (3) days to seven (7) days. The Omicron is reported to be more transmissible compared with other variants previously identified.
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