Indonesia Police Urges Strict Control Policy of Arrivals at Soekarno-Hatta Airport

TANGERANG, KOMPAS.com – National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo urged the operator of Soekarno-Hatta Airport near Jakarta to increase its control policies of all arrivals amid the pandemic.

“Here at the airport, there are two main tasks that we need to pay attention to. First, how do we closely monitor the arrival of foreigners and Indonesian citizens from abroad,” said Listyo during his visit to Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Wednesday, May 12.

Listyo said that there is a need to ask inbound passengers to undergo another coronavirus PCR test upon arrival at the airport even though they have already presented a negative coronavirus PCR test from the country of origin.

Also read: Indonesia Quarantines Foreign Sailors Suspected of Carrying Covid-19 Variant From India

"Especially, after temperature checks, if the body temperature rises above normal, the passenger must immediately undergo a Covid-19 antigen test,” he said.

The second main task, he said, relevant officers must impose strict health protocols discipline on inbound and outbound passengers.

“In areas of entry point, such as at the airport, we must implement stricter health protocols,” he said, adding that the nearby sub precinct police can request support from the Jakarta Police.

“If you are short-handed, you can ask Jakarta Police or the Police Headquarters to provide additional personnel.”

Also read: Covid Positive Filipino Crew Member Dies in Indonesia Hospital

He also said that the airport operator must anticipate the influx of passengers after the Eid al-Fitr celebrations. “I hope the airport will implement stricter control policies as this is a connecting gate to other areas," he said.

As of May 11, Indonesia reported a total of 1.7 million confirmed cases since the first two cases were found in March 2020 and 47,465 deaths. Meanwhile, over 1.5 million patients have recovered. 

Recently, the Indonesian government announced that chartered flights from overseas will be banned temporarily for the duration of the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The Transportation Ministry will curtail chartered flights until May 17.

(Writer: Muhammad Naufal | Editor: Egidius Patnistik)

Source: https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2021/05/12/16440201/kapolri-minta-bandara-soekarno-hatta-tingkatkan-pengawasan-terhadap-wna.