Last week, scientists from the United Kingdom’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) discovered a new strain of the coronavirus that has been spreading rapidly in Britain, Reuters reports.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new variant, known as the B117 lineage, may be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the original disease, although there has yet to be evidence that it causes more severe illness or higher mortality.

This new strain has since been found in a number of European nations, Canada, Japan, Australia and Singapore.

”In response to these developments, a limited Cabinet meeting on Dec. 28 came to the decision to temporarily bar the entry of foreign nationals from all countries to Indonesia from Jan. 1 to 14, 2021,” Retno told the press at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday.

Exceptions for foreigners due to arrive prior to Thursday, Dec. 31 have also been put in place, based on the latest regulations set up by the national COVID-19 task force.

They must adhere to strict health protocols that include presenting negative results of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken at least 48 hours before departure to Indonesia, to be uploaded into the Indonesia Health Alert Card (eHAC) application.

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