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Jakarta island starts housing evacuees from World Dream cruise ship
Further scrutiny: Indonesian crew members of the World Dream cruise ship arrive on Sebaru Kecil Island in Thousand Islands regency in Jakarta on Friday to undergo 14 days of observation after they tested negative for the COVID-19 coronavirus during a previous quarantine in Hong Kong
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urther scrutiny: Indonesian crew members of the World Dream cruise ship arrive on Sebaru Kecil Island in Thousand Islands regency in Jakarta on Friday to undergo 14 days of observation after they tested negative for the COVID-19 coronavirus during a previous quarantine in Hong Kong.(Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
Once little-known among the cluster of Jakarta's Thousands Islands regency, all eyes are now on Sebaru Kecil Island because of the government’s decision to turn the uninhabited islet into an observation center for evacuees from the World Dream cruise ship.
All 188 Indonesian citizens who were rescued from the cruise ship arrived on the island on Friday afternoon.
They are to be put under observation for 14 days on the island, which has been prepped with medical and observation facilities to prevent the spread of the global COVID-19 coronavirus into Indonesia.
The World Dream crew members had already tested negative for the virus during their quarantine in Hong Kong, but the government is taking no chances amid concerns over the increasing transmission of the disease outside of China.
The Dr. Soeharso naval hospital ship met the World Dream, which had transported the crew members from Hong Kong, in the Durian Strait of Karimun regency, Riau Islands province. The crew members were transferred at sea to the hospital ship, which then sailed to a position about 8 kilometers from Sebaru Kecil Island, arriving at 1 p.m. on Friday. Military landing craft were then used to carry the cruise ship's Indonesian crew members the rest of the way to Sebaru.
Antara news wire reported that two fishing boats were spotted around Sebaru Kecil Island on Friday afternoon. However, their presence did not disturb the transfer of the World Dream crew members from the hospital ship.
The Indonesian Navy's elite Frogmen Command (Kopaska) commander, Col. Johan Wahyudi, said the waters around the island were still open for passage by fishermen or local people of the archipelagic regency.
"We're still seeing local fishermen resuming their normal activities around the island. Fishing is not prohibited around the island. However, they could not land or rest on Sebaru Kecil Island," Johan said as reported by Antara.
The crew members are to live in a rehabilitation building, which was prepared for use as an observation center, said the director of logistics and equipment of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Rustian.
“There are decent bedrooms, all necessary facilities and it is generally much better than Natuna,” he said on Wednesday. “All preparations are set.”
Rustian said the building had the capacity for 200 people, adding that the government deployed more than 760 personnel from the Indonesian Military, the BNPB and the Health Ministry to oversee the center.
This would be the second quarantine measure taken by the Indonesian government following its first quarantine of 243 people — comprising 237 Indonesian nationals, one foreigner and five embassy staffers — on Natuna Island for 14 days earlier this month after they were evacuated from Wuhan and other cities in China’s Hubei province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The 16.5-hectare Sebaru Kecil Island is located to the north off the coast of the capital city among the 110 islands that make up the Thousand Islands regency. Thousand Islands Regent Husein Murad claimed that the island was far from the inhabited islands of the regency.
“It is uninhabited; tourists never visited the island and the nearby islands are also uninhabited as well, so it is quite safe as an observation center,” he told The Jakarta Post.
Husein explained that the island used to be a place for drug rehabilitation programs carried out by the National Narcotics Agency. However, the drug rehabilitation center on the island has been inactive since 2016.
“Even though the island is uninhabited, it has very good facilities like dormitories, a clinic, a hall, and a kitchen. All the facilities are well maintained and still in good condition,” he said.
Prior to the transfer, Husein said he had informed the islanders in the regency about the quarantine on Sebaru Kecil to allay public concern and to warn local fishermen to stay clear of the island.
“We had our discussions. Some people were concerned, but after I explained the situation they could understand,” he said.
Husein said he did not worry that the quarantine would affect local tourism, one of the main sources of income for the region. Several islands in the regency, such as Tidung, Pramuka, Panggang and Harapan, have become popular among residents of Greater Jakarta looking for a quick getaway. The islands, which can be reached in about four hours from North Jakarta, offer white sandy beaches and pristine waters.
Cucu Ahmad Kurnia, the head of the Jakarta Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, also brushed off concerns that the presence of the crew members would deter visitors from going to the islands.
“I don’t think it would affect the tourism in Thousand Islands, since the island is located far away from tourist spots and the crew members [to be quarantined] had tested negative for COVID-19,” he said.
However, concerns remain among the islanders. Nur Ubaidillah, a 30-year-old resident of Panggang Island, said he was really concerned about the quarantine on Sebaru Island, both over health issues and for local tourism.
