Documentation - Tens of Chinese-flagged fishing boats moored at Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China on Sept 17, 2017). ANTARA/REUTERS/Imagine China/Hu Sheyou/aa.

Some 14 Indonesians, former crew members of the Chinese fishing ship Long Xing 629, were flown from South Korea to Indonesia aboard a Garuda Indonesia aircraft on Friday.

"They departed for Jakarta aboard a Garuda Indonesia aircraft this morning, and all of them are in good health," Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea Umar Hadi stated during a video recording sent to the media on Friday.

The Indonesian crew members are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia at 3:50 p.m. local time. They were flown to Indonesia after undergoing compulsory quarantine over the novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) at a hotel in Busan, South Korea.

During the video recording, the crew members held a telephonic conversation with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi prior to their departure to Incheon Airport.

The Indonesians, who formerly worked for a Chinese-flagged fishing ship, were keen to be repatriated to Indonesia after their three colleagues died aboard the ship and were buried at sea.

They also allegedly experienced human rights violations while working aboard the ship.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry and legal authorities are investigating the case to ensure that their rights were fulfilled.

The 14 crew members are part of the 46 Indonesian citizens, who earlier worked for four Chinese fishing ships. The government is leaving no stone unturned in protecting the Indonesian citizens.

Most of the 46 Indonesian crew members have returned to Indonesia, while two of them are in the Korean waters, pending settlement of the immigration process, before being flown to Indonesia. One of them died of pneumonia in Busan.

The Chinese government and the operators of fishing ships Long Xing 629 and Tian Yu 8 have maintained that the sea burials of Indonesian seafarers, who died during service, were in accordance with the International Labour Organization's rules.

They also aver that the crew members were buried at sea on the approval of their families.

"The ship's management informed the family (of one crew member, identified by his initials as AR) and obtained an approval letter for (his) sea burial on March 30 (this year). The family also agreed to receive death compensation from the Tian Yu 8 ship management," Minister Marsudi stated here on Thursday.

AR was part of the crew aboard Long Xing 629. He fell ill on March 26, 2020, and was transferred to Tian Yu 8 which would shift him to a port for medical treatment, though he died on the morning of March 30, 2020.

He was buried at sea the next morning, on March 31, 2020, according to a statement from the ship's management.

Last year, two other Indonesian crew members on board Long Xing 629 had died while it was sailing in the Pacific Ocean. Their remains were buried at sea in December 2019. (ANTARA)

A Batik Air Airbus A330-300 prepares to evacuate Indonesian citizens from Wuhan, China, at Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten on Feb. 1. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

Several Indonesian airlines have resumed domestic passenger flights, following a letter from the COVID-19 task force, allowing certain people to travel despite government travel restrictions.

Service will be reopened gradually this month. 

Garuda Indonesia officially resumed domestic passenger flights on Thursday, after suspending them in compliance with the government’s large scale social restrictions (PSBB).

“Flight reservations can be accessed through all ticket channels of Garuda Indonesia,” the airline’s president-director Irfan Setiaputra said in a statement on Thursday. 

He added that the company would remain in regular contact with authorities to support the fight against COVID-19. 

Garuda Indonesia will require passengers, to provide ground staff with medical letters from hospitals stating that they are COVID-19 negative.

The airline will also require state officials to provide documents, including official letters of duty, employee IDs and letters explaining the purpose of travel.

Lion Air, Wings Air, and Batik Air ‒ members of the Lion Air Group ‒ will resume domestic passenger flights on Sunday.

Tickets for these airlines are available at their counters, call centers, and official websites. 

“[We will apply] the physical distancing policy in the cabin by omitting middle seats in the three-seat configurations in economy class. The passengers will either be seated by the window or by the aisle. 

“Meanwhile, in the business class with two-seat configurations, we will apply a zig-zag seating the arrangement,” said Danang Mandala Prihantoro, Lion Air Group corporate communications strategic officer, in a statement on Thursday.

The Lion Air Group will perform pre-flight health checks and worthy-for-flight tests on crew members prior to departure. 

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Wednesday that it would possible for the government to allow all modes of public transportation to resume operation on Thursday to accommodate particular individuals while maintaining the ban on this year’s Idul Fitri mudik (exodus).  (TheJakPost).

Several Indonesian airlines have resumed domestic passenger flights, following a letter from the COVID-19 task force, allowing certain people to travel despite government travel restrictions.

Service will be reopened gradually this month. 

Garuda Indonesia officially resumed domestic passenger flights on Thursday, after suspending them in compliance with the government’s large scale social restrictions (PSBB).

“Flight reservations can be accessed through all ticket channels of Garuda Indonesia,” the airline’s president-director Irfan Setiaputra said in a statement on Thursday. 

He added that the company would remain in regular contact with authorities to support the fight against COVID-19. 

Garuda Indonesia will require passengers, to provide ground staff with medical letters from hospitals stating that they are COVID-19 negative.

The airline will also require state officials to provide documents, including official letters of duty, employee IDs and letters explaining the purpose of travel.

Lion Air, Wings Air and Batik Air ‒ members of the Lion Air Group ‒ will resume domestic passenger flights on Sunday.

Tickets for these airlines are available at their counters, call centers and official websites. 

“[We will apply] the physical distancing policy in the cabin by omitting middle seats in the three-seat configurations in economy class. The passengers will either be seated by the window or by the aisle. 

“Meanwhile, in the business class with two-seat configurations, we will apply a zig-zag seating arrangement,” said Danang Mandala Prihantoro, Lion Air Group corporate communications strategic officer, in a statement on Thursday.

The Lion Air Group will perform pre-flight health checks and worthy-for-flight tests on crew members prior to departure. 

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Wednesday that it would possible for the government to allow all modes of public transportation to resume operation on Thursday to accommodate particular individuals while maintaining the ban on this year’s Idul Fitri mudik (exodus).  (TheJakPost).

Government spokesperson for the handling of COVID-19, Achmad Yurianto, during a video conference on Monday in Jakarta. (ANTARA)

The number of patients recovering from COVID-19 in Indonesia has doubled or increased 256 percent to 2,381 compared to the number of deaths that has reached 930 as of 12 p.m. local time on Thursday (May 7, 2020).

"The highest distribution of patients who have recovered is in DKI Jakarta, South Sulawesi, East Java, Bali, and West Java," said government spokesperson for handling COVID-19, Achmad Yurianto, in a video conference held by the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling on Thursday at the Graha Office of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Jakarta.

As of 12 p.m. local time on May 7, 2020, the task force has recorded 2,381 patient recoveries, while the number of deaths due to COVID-19 has reached 930.

Fifteen provinces in Indonesia have not reported fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday: Aceh, Bangka Belitung, Bengkulu, Jambi, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Riau Islands, North Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Lampung, North Maluku, Maluku, West Papua, West Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara.

Meanwhile, with 338 additional cases reported in the rest of the country, the number of COVID-19 cases nationwide has reached 12,776.

As many as 243,455 people are under monitoring (ODP), while the number of patients under surveillance (PDP) has reached 28,508. More than 200,000 of the total ODPs have been monitored and declared healthy.

Cases of COVID-19 have appeared in 354 districts and cities spread across 34 provinces in the country.

The Indonesian government officially announced the country's first confirmed coronavirus case on March 2 this year. The central and regional governments have since then made persistent efforts to flatten the coronavirus curve by imposing healthcare protocols and social restrictions.

Large-scale social restrictions have been enforced in several cities, including Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, and Pekanbaru, to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.

The central government has also banned homebound travel, locally known as ‘mudik’, during the fasting month of Ramadhan and the Idul Fitri holiday season. (ANTARA)

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi. (ANTARA)

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has intensified its coordination with the Foreign Affairs Ministry to encourage investment in Indonesia. Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday, reiterated the need to strengthen the strategy to boost investment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ministry and BKPM must work in synergy to attract investment during the post-pandemic economic recovery, she said.

"Indonesian missions abroad are expected to improve their performance to explore the investment potential from each country   Economic diplomacy has become more important than before," Marsudi added.

Meanwhile, BKPM head Bahlil Lahadalia said Indonesian diplomats are actively promoting investment opportunities in Indonesia.

"Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is hard to expect the inflow of new investment to Indonesia. The BKPM will focus on the realization of existing investment. Support us to promote investment," Lahadalia urged.

As many as 34 Indonesian representatives, including from the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) in Russia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, China, Italy, and Turkey, have voiced their commitment to boost investment, during a webinar on a strategy to increase investment post the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BKPM is also targeting to complete some unfinished investment projects worth Rp708 trillion. Some of the projects, worth Rp287 trillion, have been completed, including the investment project of Lotte Chemical Indonesia, construction of the Pertamina-Rosneft oil refinery, construction of the Tanjung Jati power plant, and construction of the Hyundai Motor Company’s car manufacturing unit.

With the Presidential Instruction no. 7/2019 handing over the authority to process business licenses from 22 institutions and ministries to BKPM, the Board has made a commitment to ensure that investment in the country is materialized, said Lahadalia. (ANTARA)