VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Due to the spread of the coronavirus or 2019-nCoV, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry has issued a travel advisory for its nationals who intend to visit China. "Indonesian citizens who are still at home should reconsider their plan to visit China and have the wisdom to select and respond to the circulating information related to the outbreak of 2019-nCoV," acting spokesman of the ministry Teuku Faizasyah said during a press briefing in Jakarta, Monday.

In response to the spread of coronavirus in China, Faizasyah said the Foreign Ministry has not yet issued a travel ban for China.

"We only advise citizens who wish to or have plans to travel to China, to exercise caution and avoid areas which based on open information have been affected or have the potential to be affected by coronavirus," he said.

He also advised Indonesian citizens planning to visit China to access information on the location of destination through SafeTravel application provided by the Foreign Ministry.

"Through the application, anybody can understand the extent to which the Foreign Ministry recommends those wishing to travel," he said.

The information in the application is provided based on clear criteria and open information so that it can be accounted for, he added.

In the application, Hubei Province in China where Wuhan City is located is in red, which means Indonesian citizens 'cannot' visit it due to a health threat.

The areas marked in yellow mean that Indonesians are 'advised' not to visit there.

Based on information from the Chinese National Health Commission as of Sunday afternoon, January 26, the number of infected patients reached 2,762, and the number of suspected patients stood at 5,794.

Meanwhile, the number of patients who died of coronavirus in China reached 80 with 29 out of 31 provinces/cities having been affected. (ANTARA)