February 04, 2020, 12:59 PM
Plane passengers who landed in Batam, Indonesia from Wuhan, China were immediately sprayed with a substance as they disembarked onto the tarmac.
Individuals in yellow hazmat suits and backpacks with the word “Alkohol” inscribed on them, sprayed each passenger with a clear mist as those on board exited a Batik Air Indonesia flight.
A caption on photos of the spray from Reuters, taken by Indonesia-based Antara Foto, refers to the spray as an “antiseptic”.
One video posted to Twitter on Feb. 2 described the scene as “Indonesian citizens in Wuhan have arrived in Batam”.
WNI di Wuhan sudah tiba di Batam. Dan alhamdulillah semua sementara ini dinyatakan sehat. Meskipun demikian mereka tetap akan menjalani karantina selama bbrp hari di Natuna pic.twitter.com/zD7Em6ik9m
— ꦩꦸꦂꦠꦝ (@MurtadhaOne1) February 2, 2020
The English-language The Jakarta Post newspaper reported that the passengers arrived in the Indonesian city from Batam on Feb. 2.
The passengers on the plane consisted of people who had been trapped in Wuhan and other cities in the Hubei province after the city shut down travel and was put under lockdown.
Passengers healthy
“All have been declared healthy according to World Health Organization standards,” the spokesperson for the country's president said Sunday, according to The Jakarta Post.
The plane landed in Batam at around 8:45am local time in the city.
The passengers were expected to be transported to Natuna Island to remain in isolation on a military base with medical facilities for 14 days before being released.
A total of 243 people arrived in the country on the flight, a press release from the Indonesia Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
A total of 237 are Indonesian citizens, one passenger is the husband of an Indonesian citizen, and five members of the “Advance team of the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing”.
Seven Indonesian citizens stayed behind in China, four by choice and three because they did not meet health requirements for the flight.
The around 245 on board were flown from Batam to Natuna on three separate military aircraft, The Jakarta Post reported.
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