The Indonesian government has extended the quarantine period for international arrivals to 7 days to prevent transmission of the new variant of Omicron Covid-19.
The central government, through the coordinator of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, revised the entry requirements policy by extending the quarantine period for international travelers to seven days. This quarantine extension was added as a preventative measure to stop the spread of a new variant of Covid-19 called Omicron. According to preliminary research, the new variant recently discovered in South Africa and now around the world could be more easily transmitted and evade vaccines.
Starting from the 3-day quarantine previously implemented, Luhut has extended the quarantine period to 7 days for international travelers and Indonesian citizens who have recently traveled from other countries outside of Indonesia. Travelers who have recently traveled from 11 countries at high risk of contracting the Omicron variant such as Hong Kong, South Africa, Malawi, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho will now have to undergo 14 quarantine. days upon arrival.
Badung Hotel and Restaurant Association President IGN Rai Suryawijaya said the policy was the right step to anticipate the third wave of Covid-19 transmission in Bali. “We can fully understand that this new variant of Covid-19 has become the third wave of transmission of Covid-19 in several European countries and in Israel. Suryawijaya said on Monday (11/29).
However, he said the new policy will further affect the tourism sector in Bali. Bali also faces a partial lockdown for holidays, and tourism businesses will be subject to more stringent measures and operate with more restrictions.
"I have to admit this will have an impact on our tourism industry as people become more reluctant to travel, but we may still have domestic tourists coming in December." Suryawijaya concluded.