Indonesia will temporarily ban all foreign travellers from visiting the country for two weeks from Jan. 1 to Jan. 14 in 2021, Bloomberg and The Jakarta Post reported.
The ban comes amidst concerns of the more infectious strain of Covid-19 detected in the UK.
Only foreigners who hold a ministerial position are exempted
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi added that the decision to do so had been made on Dec. 28.
Exceptions will only be made for officials who hold a ministerial position or higher.
As per Retno:
"Official visits at the ministerial level and above will be exempted from this temporary entry ban, but will be implemented with very strict health protocols."
Indonesians abroad can still return under strict conditions
Indonesians who are abroad will still be able to return to the country however, although their return will be subjected to multiple conditions, Tempo further reported.
This includes showing a negative result for a Covid-19 PCR test, 48 hours prior to departure, filling out an online health alert card (e-HAC), being subjected to a reverse-transcriptase PCR tests upon arrival, and a five-day quarantine.
Expenses will be covered by the Indonesian government.
Indonesia has over 735,000 cases
Thus far, Indonesia has recorded 735,124 cases of Covid-19.
The death toll currently stands at 21,944.
A senior Indonesian health ministry official was quoted by Reuters as stating that the hospitals faced a risk of being overwhelmed by a potential year-end spike in cases, and that hospital capacity in Jakarta had reached 84 per cent.
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