The government has included the UK, Norway, and Denmark on the list of countries prohibited from entering Indonesia, following the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan confirmed the addition at a press conference, adding that Hong Kong will be removed from the list of prohibited countries.
Indonesia initially banned 11 countries from entering; South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, and Lesotho.
Currently, the Omicron variant has entered 90 countries, including Indonesia. Luhut said the government is continuing to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in other countries to adjust policies.
“I think we will see if later many other countries get worse. If yes then we will also adjust,” he said.
Luhut asked the public to refrain from travelling abroad, considering that the Omicron variant has entered many countries. He went on to say that the government does not want COVID-19 cases to spike how they did in July 2021.
“I repeat, the government urges the public not to travel abroad because the situation is very severe now around the world,” said Luhut.