Indonesia mulls ‘vaccine lane’ to further bypass quarantine restrictions

An official looking on from the booth of a tourist information centre at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang near Jakarta. - Reuters

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): With Indonesia continuing to look for new ways to revive its tourism sector, the government is now pushing for a vaccine travel lane (VTL) policy with several neighboring countries that would allow further reductions in quarantine – a major hurdle in the reopening of its borders.

During a regional summit last week, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said six Asean countries were working together in subregional groups to set up the VTL in a bid to offset the economic slump that has resulted from plummeting tourist arrivals.