Quarantine period for foreign travelers now five days: Official

Jakarta, February 3 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has revised the quarantine period for foreign travelers (PPLN) to five days based on an evaluation of local Omicron transmission, head of the COVID-19 Task Force, Lieutenant General Suharyanto, informed on Thursday. "The latest development shows that the Omicron variant is not only from foreign travelers. The evaluation results show that local transmission has actually increased, compared with foreign travelers. So, we have decided to change the quarantine period to five days," he explained at a press conference. The head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the government has been trying to suppress the rate of Omicron transmission since the first case was discovered on December 23, 2021, by tightening quarantine implementation. As the Omicron variant transmits quickly, the government has adjusted policies accordingly, Suharyanto added. When Omicron was detected in countries on the African continent and several European countries, the Indonesian government issued a closure policy for 13 countries with high cases of local transmission, he noted. Quarantine for foreign travelers from these 13 countries was set to 14 days, and 10 days for travelers from other countries, he said. The policy was re-evaluated to 10 days for travelers from the 13 countries and 7 days for those coming from other countries, he added. "This is all related to security and safety matters. This government policy related to quarantine does not intend to increase the burden on foreign travelers, both for travelers, migrant workers, civil servants returning from duty, or students from studying overseas. This is all for security reasons," he emphasized.