The Indonesian government has banned foreign nationals from entering and transiting through the country to thwart the further spread of the novel coronavirus.

"The president has decided to strengthen the current policy. We have decided that visits and transits of all foreign nationals through the Indonesian territory would be temporarily stopped," Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi stated during a virtual press briefing after a meeting with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Tuesday.

The minister clarified that the restriction would not apply to work permit holders, diplomats, and other official visitors, though adding that they would have to adhere to the health protocol.

"The new policy will be stipulated in a new Law and Human Rights Ministerial Regulation," Marsudi revealed.

Earlier  in the day, during the opening of the video conference meeting, President Jokowi stated that the government had continued to monitor developments pertaining to the spread of COVID-19 around the world.

Jokowi called for the authority to pay greater attention to inter-country mobility to cut the chain of COVID-19 transmission, in addition to local transmission.

Moreover, the latest development points to the epicenter of the virus having moved from China to the United States and Europe.

Countries, such as China, South Korea, and Singapore, which already succeeded in flattening the curve of the coronavirus transmission are currently potentially facing a new wave of COVID-19 infection.

"Some countries that have been able to flatten the curve of COVID-19 transmission are facing a new challenge called the new wave of COVID-19. China, South Korea, and Singapore have faced the problem of imported cases," Jokowi pointed out. (ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) highlighted the importance of stringently monitoring the entry of Indonesian migrant workers, particularly from Malaysia, and ship crew members, who had returned to their hometowns, to prevent imported cases of COVID-19.

During a teleconference meeting to discuss the movement of Indonesian migrant workers and foreigners held at the Bogor Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday, Jokowi emphasized the significance of taking precautionary measures to handle imported COVID-19 cases involving migrant workers.

"The inflows of migrant workers from various countries, especially from Malaysia, must be handled carefully, as it involves hundreds of thousands or millions of Indonesian migrant workers keen to return home," the president stated.

Jokowi confirmed receiving a report that in the past few days, over three thousand workers from Malaysia had returned to their hometowns on a daily basis.

Jokowi had also instructed to conduct strict monitoring of ship crew members, who had recently returned to the country.  

"The number of ship crew is forecast to reach 10 to 11 thousand. We would need to conduct their health screening," the president stated.

The head of state has highlighted the importance of imposing stricter rules on the inflows of foreigners and Indonesians returning from overseas.

Some countries, including China, South Korea, and Singapore, faced the new challenge of imported COVID-19 cases.

The Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BP2MI) recorded that 32,192 migrant workers had returned from countries affected by COVID-19.

Of the 32,192 migrant workers, some 11,566 had returned home from Malaysia; 9,075 from Hong Kong; 5,487 from Taiwan; 2,799 from Singapore; 889 from Brunei Darussalam; 888 from Saudi Arabia; 756 from South Korea; 641 from Italy; 46 from Japan; and 45 from the United States. (ANTARA)

Indonesia’s House of Representatives opened its third session for 2019-2020 with a plenary meeting here on Monday amid a work-from-home guidance issued by the central and local authorities for the past two weeks.

The meeting was attended by 45 legislators, while 279 others participated in the session via video conferencing.

The legislature is located in Senayan, which is the epicenter of the current COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia. The House of Representatives had earlier extended its recess from March 22 to March 29 before finally deciding to open the third session.

"By saying Bismillahhhirahmanirrahim (in the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful), I, as the Speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives, announce to all Indonesian people that the third meeting session for the 2019 to 2020 period is officially starting today, March 30, 2020," House Speaker Puan Maharani said in her speech in Jakarta, Monday.

“Forty-five members of the House of Representatives are here in person, while 279 others are in their homes, attending the plenary meeting virtually," Maharani stated.

Though they were in the same room, the legislative members practiced social distancing by sitting far apart from each other.

The Jakarta Provincial Government had recorded a total of 720 COVID-19 cases as of Monday, with 48 people recovering from the viral infection and 76 succumbing to it.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Government on March 30 reported 1,414 confirmed cases, and said 75 patients had recovered from COVID-19. The death toll was recorded at 122. (ANTARA)

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung to draft a presidential instruction that obliges regional administrations to set a guideline for handling disaster emergency or contingency plan, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Doni Monardo.

According to Doni, the President made the request during a meeting on the flood control on Friday, January 3, 2020.

"The Presidential Instruction [Inpres] will require governors, regents, mayors to arrange contingency plan," said Doni at the Presidential Office on Friday, January 3, 2020.

Doni explained that natural disasters in the country were relatively the same. During the dry season, several regions will suffer drought or forest fires, while other regions in the rainy season will experience floods or landslides.

Further, Donni explained that through the Inpres, regional heads can prepare strategies based on the potential disaster in their respective areas. So they will know what steps to take when disaster strikes.

"With the Inpres, all stakeholders can also remind regional administration to take preparation and mitigation steps," Doni remarked. (TEMPO.CO)