Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Indonesian Covid-19 Cases in Saudi Arabia Mostly Migrant Workers

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the majority of Covid-19 cases among Indonesians in Saudi Arabia are the country’s migrant workers.

Based on data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there a total of 141 confirmed Covid-19 cases among Indonesians in Saudi Arabia as of June 16.

As many as 76 people are hospitalized, 42 have recovered, and 23 casualties resulting from the deadly Covid-19 virus.

Also read: Indonesia’s Covid-19 Cases Officially Highest in ASEAN

Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia are based in cities with a high concentration of coronavirus active cases.

“Many cases are from Indonesian migrant workers based in Mecca, Medina, and Jeddah where the spread of the Covid-19 virus remains relatively high. The surge in confirmed cases is also because the Saudi government has carried out mass testing,” said Judha Nugraha, the Director of Citizens Protection and Legal Assistance at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In Malaysia, there are 167 Indonesians with confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Judha said that 125 Indonesians in Malaysia are hospitalized, 40 people have recovered, and 2 have died from the novel coronavirus.

Also read: Indonesia's Covid-19 Cases Near 40,000-Mark

Globally, there are 1,058 Indonesians living overseas who have Covid-19. As many as 682 Indonesians or 64.4 percent of the total number have recovered.

Around 64 of the 1,058 Indonesians have passed away while the rest remain in hospital care.

Eurodam crew evacuation

On June 17, the first batch of Indonesian evacuees from the Eurodam cruise ship arrived in Tanjung Priok Port.

The following day, 426 Indonesian evacuees from the second batch touched base at the port.

Upon arriving at the port, each evacuee was sprayed with disinfectant including their personal belongings in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The Indonesian crew members were required to undergo quarantine and were given a swab test upon their arrival at the Grand Mercure Hotel in Jakarta.

Also read: COVID-19: Social Restrictions Extended, Violations Persist in Indonesian Cities

Individuals from the evacuated crew members who are found to be carrying the virus will be moved to the Covid-19 Emergency Hospital at the Wisma Atlet.

If they are Covid-19 negative, they will be granted a letter from the health team so they can respectively return to their hometowns.

As of June 18, Indonesia's nationwide confirmed Covid-19 cases totaled to 42,762. 

(Writer: Devina Halim, Achmad Nasrudin Yahya | Editor: Krisiandi, Kristian Erdianto

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/17/20432601/kemenlu-sebut-sebagian-besar-wni-terjangkit-covid-19-di-saudi-pekerja-migran

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/17/15453571/434-abk-wni-kapal-eurodam-dievakuasi-ke-pelabuhan-tanjung-priok