VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Authority of the state-owned airport operator, PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) at Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado, North Sulawesi Province, has strengthened precautionary measures by screening arriving international passengers for coronavirus.

The precautionary measures were partly implemented with the installation of a thermal scanner at the international airport to detect any foreign tourist suffering from the symptom of this novel (new) coronavirus, Sam Ratulangi International Airport’s Spokesperson Angga Maruli said in Manado, North Sulawesi, Thursday.

The foreign tourist arrivals were also given health alert cards because North Sulawesi Province has become one of the favorite destinations for foreign travelers, particularly those from China.

The inflow of Chinese travelers into North Sulawesi through the Sam Ratulangi International Airport could be categorized “high” while China was the source of the virus, he said.

The first case of coronavirus was declared by Chinese authorities after a person with pneumonia was hospitalized in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, according to an official statement of the World Health Organization (WHO).

As published in its official statement on January 9, 2020, WHO revealed that the “Chinese investigators conducted gene sequencing of the virus, using an isolate from one positive patient sample. “

As for the outbreak of the coronavirus, ANTARA quoted a WHO report from its official website Thursday that it was informed of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan on December 31, 2019,

In addition to providing care to patients and isolating new cases as they are identified, Chinese public health officials have reported that they remain focused on continued contact tracing, conducting environmental assessments at the wholesale market, and investigations to identify the pathogen causing the outbreak.

WHO is closely monitoring this event and is in active communication with counterparts in China. In line with standard protocols for any public health event, an incident management system has been activated across the three levels of WHO (country office, regional office and headquarters) and the Organization is prepared to mount a broader response, if needed.

WHO further revealed that the preliminary determination of a novel virus would assist authorities in other countries to conduct disease detection and response. Over the past week, people with symptoms of pneumonia and reported travel history to Wuhan had been identified at international airports.

“WHO does not recommend any specific measures for travelers. WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the information currently available,” it said. (ANTARA)