Indonesia Highlights: Jokowi Installs Two Ministers, National Research Chief | Indonesia Temporarily Bans Flights from India: Tourism Minister | Indonesian Police Bust Medical Workers Reusing Old Rapi

"We know that the Covid-19 situation in India is worrying, therefore the government has taken a firm step to close our borders to foreigners from India," Sandiaga said on Tuesday, April 24.

The decision was made a month after both countries discussed launching direct flights between Bali and India following a plan to reopen Bali's tourist attractions in the second semester of 2021.

Sandiaga said India's Covid crisis occurred when the government permitted religious festivals such as the Ganges River festival and other crowd pulling events. These traditions increased coronavirus transmissions. The situation was worsened by the country’s substandard health facilities.

The former Vice-Presidential hopeful added that the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Mwill work closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health.

"We will continue to monitor the situation in India, including the progress of the travel corridor arrangement with India," he said.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/04/28/151942674/indonesia-temporarily-bans-flights-from-india-tourism-minister?page=all#page2. 

Indonesian Police Bust Medical Workers Reusing Old Rapid Test Kits

Police in Indonesia’s North Sumatra Province has busted a ring of health workers from a subsidiary of state-owned Kimia Farma pharmaceutical company, after they reused old rapid test kits on travelers at the Kualanamu International Airport.

North Sumatra Regional Police spokesman Police Grand Commissioner Hadi Wahyudi said the police arrested six medical workers in the undercover sting.

“We carried out the operation after [the Regional Police’s] Special Crimes Directorate received a tip from [travelers] who reported that the test kits they were using has already been used. The Directorate then sent Police Commissioner Attendant [AKP] Jericho Levian to investigate. ”

AKP Jericho and his men posed as airline passengers at the airport and allowed the medical workers from Kimia Farma to carry out the antigen rapid tests.

“The investigators’ suspicions increased after the tests indicated them to be positive for Covid-19. Sceptical of the results, the policemen examined the antigen rapid test labs, then interrogated the Kimia Farma Diagnostic personnel,” he asserted.

“The health workers admitted to the police that they used old rapid test samples on the passengers. Their modus operandi included washing the used rapid test kits and replacing them. Kimia Farma Diagnostics’s parent company, Kimia Farma, has come clean about their employees’ actions.

The medical workers’ actions have discredited [Kimia Farma] and violated our standard operating procedures [SOP],” said Kimia Farma President-Director Adil Fadhilah Bulgini in a written statement to Kompas.com on Wednesday.

Kimia Farma’s admission is not enough for legislator Martin Manurung of the National Democratic [Nasdem] Party.

“The Ministry of State Owned Enterprises must supervise Kimia Farma’s internal corporate shakeup and findings,” said Martin. He warned that the circulation of used antigen rapid test kits could create public distrust of state-owned companies like Kimia Farma.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/04/29/021323474/indonesian-police-bust-medical-workers-reusing-old-rapid-test-kits?page=all#page2.