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Ministry issues travel advisory, increases surveillance amid virus outbreak
All 135 entry points to the country have been equipped with thermal scanners that can identify a person’s body temperature remotely through a camera.
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Medical staff carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected by a mysterious SARS-like virus are being treated, in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on Jan. 18. (AFP/STR/China Out)
T
he Health Ministry has issued a travel advisory for Indonesians who wish to travel to countries affected by the Wuhan coronavirus and handed out health alert cards (HACs) to passengers arriving from China and other affected countries.
“The ministry has had a travel advisory in place since Jan. 3 and disseminated information on wearing masks to officials at airports that are directly in touch with passengers, such as ground handlers and immigration officers, in an effort to prevent the spread of infection,” Soekarno-Hatta International Airport health authority chief Anas Ma’ruf said on Monday.
He said all 135 entry points to the country had been equipped with thermal scanners that could identify a person’s body temperature remotely through a camera.
“We already equipped all entry points with thermal scanners that are operating routinely. We have also trained our officers out on the field to identify passengers who have possible symptoms,” Anas told The Jakarta Post.
The Health Ministry’s disease control and prevention director general, Anung Sugihartono, said the ministry had released the travel advisory for people wishing to travel to affected countries.
“There is no travel ban on China, only a travel advisory. We still welcome tourists from China and allow people to travel there. However, we have increased our vigilance regarding the virus,” he said.
He added the ministry made it compulsory for all travelers arriving from China to fill out a HAC.
