JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – By Friday (April 23rd, 2021) up to 132 foreign citizens (WNA) of origin India Enter Indonesia.

They took a charter plane from India and landed at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

Benget Saragih, head of the health quarantine sub-directorate of the General Directorate for Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) at the Ministry of Health, said hundreds of foreigners from India entering Indonesia were not among the workers.

“So there are more housewives who visit their working husbands than children who have a residence permit (daycare center),” said Benget when he was contacted by Kompas.com on Friday.

Also Read: Hundreds of Indian Citizens Enter Indonesia, 9 Positive for Covid-19

Benget said his party continued to monitor and tighten the arrival of foreigners by carrying out Covid-19 controls and a 5-day quarantine at the hotel.

“We did a PCR smear on a hotel, there were 67 people at the Ibis Tamarin Hotel, 9 were positive and we evacuated and isolated them,” he said.

Benget said Ministry of Health concerned about the increase in Covid-19 cases in India.

He said his party had proposed a temporary ban on entry into Indonesia for foreigners from India amid a surge in Covid-19 cases.

“And we also suggest that we conduct a 14-day quarantine, which is even stricter, for Indonesian citizens visiting India or foreigners who have visited India, for example in transit,” he said.

Also read: Indians flock to Indonesia when their country is hit by Covid-19

In addition, the government is currently discussing plans to temporarily ban foreigners from India, said Benget.

However, it is not certain when the government will officially announce the temporary entry ban for foreigners from India.

“Maybe the foreign minister will (will announce) that is the information, but we don’t know for sure,” he concluded.