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37 migrant workers still in China amid virus outbreak: Denpasar agency

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, February 1, 2020

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37 migrant workers still in China amid virus outbreak: Denpasar agency People wearing protective facemasks are seen next to a pharmacy in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Jan. 29. (AFP/Hector Retamal)

T

he Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Denpasar, Bali, has said that there are still at least 37 migrant workers working in China, where the fast-spreading coronavirus has killed at least 213 in the mainland.

“Thirty-seven Indonesian migrant workers set off to China in 2019. They mostly work as spa therapists or in the hotel business. We are still waiting for further information from the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing,” the agency’s Denpasar head, Soleh Hidayat, said on Friday as quoted by Antara.

Soleh said agency data indicated that no Indonesian migrant workers from Bali were sent to China in January and, even if there were those who applied to work there, they would be restricted from travel. 

Thirty-six of the migrant workers currently in China come from Denpasar and other regencies on the tourist island, including Badung, Gianyar, Jembrana and Tabanan. Only one worker originates from Banyuwangi in East Java.

Of the 37 workers, 13 of them work as spa therapists and nine of them as therapists in other sectors, while the remaining work various other jobs such as operation manager, sales manager and assistant manager.

Soleh, however, stopped short of mentioning whether the workers lived outside Wuhan and other cities in Hubei – the epicenter of the outbreak – or outside the virus-hit province.

He said none of the families had asked about the whereabouts of the 37 migrant workers by visiting the agency’s office.

“Perhaps the workers have contacted their families directly,” Soleh said.

He said the central government had floated an evacuation plan as authorities monitor the outbreak, which had affected flights between China and Indonesia.

Soleh remained hopeful that the migrant workers in China were still healthy.

“Indonesian migrant workers should immediately report to the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing in case anything happens and inform [the embassy] of their whereabouts if they are OK," he said. (ami)

 

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