To avoid the Omicron form, Indonesia imposes an immigration prohibition

The Indonesian Health Ministry announced on Sunday that travellers who live in or have visited eight African countries face an entry ban in order to prevent the importation of cases of a new COVID-19 subtype known as Omicron (B.1.1.529).

"The Directorate General of Immigration has barred visiting visas and restricted stay visas, as well as denied temporary entrance petitions for foreigners who have resided in or visited African regions," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, the ministry's spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination.

South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, and Nigeria are among the nations affected, she added, adding that the legislation will take effect 14 days before the visitors arrive in Indonesia.

Through whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis, the Indonesian government has continued to monitor the novel virus variety.

"The new variation has not been found in Indonesia yet," she said.

According to a paper published by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Omicron form can spread swiftly, readily cause COVID-19 reinfection, and impair vaccine efficacy.

Separately, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, a lung expert at the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Medicine, advised that overseas passengers' quarantine period be extended to one or two weeks once they arrive in Indonesia.

"There are exceptions for foreigners attending G20 meetings, according to the Director General of Immigration's circular letter.
They must, however, undergo thorough inspections and a sufficient quarantine time "he stated

On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) categorised the Omicron variation as a Variant of Concern (VOC).
Meanwhile, on November 9, 2021, the virus was confirmed for the first time.

"It's likely that foreigners from those eight countries have visited Indonesia since November 26," he said, "and it's not impossible that they've been exposed to this new variation in the last two weeks."

As a result, the expert emphasised the importance of adopting WGS analysis to undertake tracing on overseas passengers.

"In terms of WGS analysis in our country, there is still room for improvement," he said.

According to GISAID statistics, Indonesia had just 8,906 WGS samples out of 270 million people as of November 26, 2021. GISAID is a global science programme that provides open-access to genomic data of influenza and COVID-19 viruses.

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