Gov’t to Anticipate Influx of Indonesian Migrant Workers Returning Home

Chairperson of COVID-19 Handling and the National Economic Recovery Committee Airlangga Hartarto and Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi deliver press statement on Monday (10/5) in Jakarta (Photo by: Cabinet Secretariat/Rahmat)

The Indonesian Government is anticipating the return of Indonesian migrant workers to prevent a potential spike in COVID-19 cases and the spread of new variant of Corona virus, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said.

He said that in the period from March to May, it is predicted that the number of Indonesian migrant workers who have returned to the country has reached 49,682 people.

“The number of migrant workers returning to Indonesia was 24,215 in April and 25,467 in May. A special handling is needed,” he said in a press statement after attending a Limited Meeting on Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic on Monday (10/5) in Jakarta.

Airlangga went on to explain that in accordance with Instruction of Minister of Home Affairs Number 10 of 2021, the implementation of coordination was carried out by the regional governments and the COVID-19 Task Force, coordinated by the Regional Military Base in the Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, West Nusa Tenggara, the Riau Islands, West Kalimantan, and North Kalimantan.

“This is for the handling of the arrival of Indonesian migrant workers with a strict [health protocol] process, be it through testing such as PCR tests, or quarantine,” he said.

He also added that the results of testing so far showed that positive cases of COVID-19 were quite high, so it was necessary to anticipate an increase in COVID-19 cases in several entry posts.

Airlangga has also discussed with the Governors in areas of Sumatra (including with Riau, the Riau Islands), North Kalimantan and West Kalimantan related to the need for a quarantine place for Indonesian migrant workers and other preparations such as increasing capacity of hospitals in their respective regions. (TGH/UN) (EST/MUR)