Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin has appealed to the public not to travel abroad during the Christmas and New Year's holidays to prevent the entry of new variants of COVID-19 into Indonesia.
"For this holiday, please spend your time here inside the country; no need to travel abroad. Indonesia is a safer country compared to many other countries," he said at a press conference regarding the development of COVID-19 in Indonesia, which was accessed here on Thursday.
He urged the community to jointly protect the safety of families, neighbors, and all Indonesian people by avoiding traveling abroad as long as there is no urgent need.
"It is reasonable if people are asked to quarantine for ten days (upon arrival in Indonesia). Because it is intended not to make it difficult for people who come, but to protect our 270 million people," he said.
The minister also said that to complement Christmas and New Year's celebrations, the public must comply with the health protocols and promptly get a COVID-19 jab.
He said that a janitor at a COVID-19 Emergency Hospital has been infected with the Omicron variant in Indonesia, based on a genome sequencing examination conducted on December 15, 2021.
The Ministry of Health so far has detected five probable Omicron cases involving international travelers, both Indonesian and foreigners, he noted.
Two suspected patients are Indonesian citizens who recently returned from the United States and Britain, he said. They are currently undergoing isolation at the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital, he added.
Three other probable patients are travelers from China who visited Manado and are now quarantined in Manado, North Sulawesi province, he informed.
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