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No quarantine, testing for returning haj pilgrims despite concerns over fresh outbreak
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Pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand Mosque on July 1 as Saudi Arabia welcomes back haj travelers for the 2022 season after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem)
T
he government will not impose mandatory centralized quarantine or post-arrival testing for haj pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia, despite concerns over the possibility of new COVID-19 outbreaks following their arrival in Indonesia.
More than 92,000 Indonesian haj pilgrims are set to gradually return to the country starting from Friday. Their arrival is divided into two periods, with the first scheduled for July 15 to 30 and the second for July 30 to Aug. 13.
"Just like other international travelers, the pilgrims won't need to undergo quarantine [at government facilities] or present negative PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test results upon arrival," the Health Ministry's acting secretary for the director of communicable disease prevention, Yudhi Pramono, said on Monday.
"All of the pilgrims are fully inoculated and around 70 percent of them had even received booster vaccines."
Despite this, authorities will check their health at the airports and haj temporary shelters, and test those displaying flu-like symptoms, said Budi Sylvana who heads the Health Ministry's health center for haj.
Pilgrims who are tested positive and suffer from mild symptoms will be quarantined at isolation centers, while those who present moderate and severe symptoms will be taken to a hospital. Meanwhile, those who are declared healthy can return to their home, where they need to self isolate for 21 days.
Read also: Resumption of haj pilgrimage brings joy and sorrow for Indonesians
