The Indonesian Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand has decided to limit consular services following the country’s recent move to increase the alert level against the COVID-19 pandemic to 4.

The New Zealand government started a month-long nationwide lockdown on Wednesday to fight the COVID-19 coronavirus. The country recorded 262 confirmed cases by Thursday. With the move, the Indonesian Embassy followed suit by adjusting the operations of its services for Indonesians living in New Zealand.

"The Indonesian Embassy in Wellington will stop some of its services from Thursday," Indonesian Ambassador to New Zealand Tantowi Yahya said as reported by kompas.com, adding that the situation would persist until further notice.

Some staff members would take turns standing by at the office to serve only the urgent needs of Indonesian citizens in the country.

"Indonesian nationals who need urgent help can first contact us via a WhatsApp hotline at +6421713167," Tantowi said.

The embassy also provided links to those wanting to get updated information on the COVID-19 situation in both Indonesia and New Zealand. They can access safetravel.id or covid19.go.id. The website covid19.govt.nz offers the latest information on the spread of the coronavirus.

He called on Indonesian nationals staying in New Zealand to remain at home and follow regulations issued by the New Zealand government. (vny)