The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, stated that the quarantine period for Foreign Travel Actors (PPLN) was again cut to 3 days starting March 1, 2022, or next week at the earliest. Previously, PPLN's quarantine period had also been cut from 7 days to 5 days. The former Presidential Chief of Staff said that the 3-day quarantine only applies to PPLNs who have received the three-dose (booster) vaccine. "Starting next week, PPLN both foreigners and Indonesian citizens who have done a booster, the length of quarantine can be reduced to three days," Luhut said at a press conference on the extension of the PPKM, Monday (14/2/2022). Luhut revealed foreign tourists and Indonesian citizens who have just returned from abroad can complete the quarantine period after carrying out a PCR test with negative results on the third day. Then on the fifth day, he appealed to PPLN to return to conducting a PCR test to ensure that they were not infected with Covid-19, including the Omicron variant. "This PCR test can only take a few hours. PPLNs who have finished quarantine are encouraged to continue to carry out independent PCR tests on the fifth day, and report their health conditions to the nearest Puskesmas or health facilities," said Luhut.
Meanwhile, if the situation continues to improve, the government plans to abolish quarantine provisions for people who have traveled abroad. The removal of this quarantine will take place on April 1, 2022, or sooner. However, this decision is highly dependent on the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia. If cases improve and vaccination increases, the quarantine can be abolished. "On April 1 or before April 1, PPLN will no longer implement a centralized quarantine. But again, this depends on the pandemic so that we can control the spread of cases. We are all responsible for our country to keep it safe for all of us," said Luhut. Previously, it was reported that the reason the government cut the quarantine period to 5 days was that most of the variants that infected PPLN were Omicron. Various studies have shown that the incubation period for this variant is in the range of 3 days. On the other hand, the government feels the need to reallocate the use of Wisma Athletes. The guesthouse which was previously used for PPLN quarantine will be prepared for centralized isolation (isoter) in line with the predicted increase in isoter demand for positive confirmed cases of OTG (people without symptoms) and mild symptoms.
