VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut B. Pandjaitan stated in a press statement that the Indonesian government has currently prepared anticipatory steps in responding to the outbreak of the Omicron variant in a number of countries (1-12-2021).

A number of anticipatory steps prepared by the government are primarily intended for Indonesian citizens who will travel abroad.

"State officials, in particular, are prohibited from traveling abroad," he stressed. He also added that the prohibition against state officials applies to all levels of office, except for those carrying out important state duties.

Regarding the ban on overseas travel, Coordinating Minister Luhut added:
“For the general public, it is still an appeal. So Indonesian citizens are advised not to travel abroad first, this is to prevent and keep the pandemic under control in this country," he explained.

The government, according to Coordinating Minister Luhut, will now also prepare a third vaccine booster aimed at the elderly and vulnerable groups.

"The booster will be scheduled soon and will start in January next year," he explained.

Based on the President's direction, the quarantine period for foreigners and Indonesian citizens traveling from countries outside the 11 countries that were banned from entering yesterday was increased to 10 days from the previous 7 days.

This step was taken by considering the increasing number of countries detecting the omicron variant. This quarantine extension will take effect from December 3.

"Obviously, the policy taken will continue to be evaluated periodically while we continue to understand and explore information about this new variant," concluded Coordinating Minister Luhut. (VOI)