Passengers at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten - Photo: Antara-Vietnam News/ANN
JAKARTA (Vietnam News/ANN): The Port Health Office (KKP) at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia's Tangerang said that it is trying to prevent the entry of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid increasing cases of the viral disease in Singapore.
This anticipation is a precautionary measure ahead of the year-end holidays, according to head of the KKP Naning Nugrahini.
Although the port health office has not detected any cases of the coronavirus, the KKP office has remained vigilant and prepared health facilities, such as health clinics, for passengers showing Covid-19 symptoms as it sees high passenger movement.
“If we find any case, we will send them to the KKP clinic for a doctor’s examination, including an antigen test,” she said.
She added that the KKP office is coordinating with a team of doctors to anticipate COVID-19 transmission by carrying out contact tracing and health tests for passengers.
The Covid-19 Control Task Force will also increase the enforcement of health protocols for passengers. The anticipatory efforts against Covid-19 emergence during the holiday season will include the installation of body thermal scanners and the deployment of KKP officers at every terminal, according to Nugrahini.
Passengers at the airport are being reminded to comply with the health protocols, such as wearing masks, maintaining distance, and washing hands, she said, highlighting all airlines are advised to implement the health protocols.
According to Health Ministry data on December 6, the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia increased by 35–40, with the number of patient hospitalisations reaching 60–131, and the number of deaths rising by 0–3.
The current cases are dominated by the Omicron XBB 1.5 subvariant, which was blamed for the Covid-19 wave in Europe and the US. In addition, the EG2 and EG5 subvariants have also been detected in some patients.
However, the number of Covid-19 cases is still lower than during the pandemic, when it reached 50,000–400,000 per week. - Vietnam News/ANN
