The Central Government of Indonesia is temporarily closing its borders to all foreign travelers in an effort to curb the spread of a new, more virulent COVID-19 strain.
The closure will run from Jan. 1-14 and apply to all foreign arrivals except official visits by government dignitaries.
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, announced the strict travel ban during a virtual press conference on Dec, 28.
The move is Indonesia’s second response to the new coronavirus variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom and is up to 70% more transmissible than other strains of the virus.
On Dec, 24, the country banned all flights from the U.K. and mandated COVID-19 testing for all travelers from Europe and Australia.
Indonesian officials determined that more stringent measures were necessary after the new strain began appearing in multiple countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Finland has reported the presence of the U.K. strain as well as another new, highly-contagious strain that was first detected in South Africa.
Until Dec. 31, all travelers to Indonesia must receive a negative COVID-19 test result within 48 hours of departure.
Upon arrival, they will be screened by airport personnel and required to quarantine for five days at a government-approved hotel.
After the five-day isolation period, travelers must take a second COVID-19 test and receive a negative result before they can move freely throughout the country.
The testing and quarantine restrictions also apply to Indonesian citizens returning from visits to foreign countries.
As of Dec. 29, Indonesia has reported a total of 727,122 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 21,703 coronavirus-related deaths.
Since Dec. 1, the country has suffered over 188,000 new infections and 4,758 deaths, which are both monthly records. Jakarta leads the nation with 179,660 infections and 3,228 deaths.