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JAKARTA (REUTERS) – International visitors will not be allowed to enter Indonesia for a period of two weeks, in an attempt to stop the spread of a potentially more contagious new strain of the coronavirus, its foreign minister said on Monday (December 28). , Retno Marsudi. .
The new regulation, which will take effect on Friday (January 1), comes days after Indonesia banned travelers from Britain and tightened rules for those arriving from Europe and Australia to limit the spread of the new strain.
Earlier this year, Indonesia banned all foreign tourists, but some exceptions have been made for business travelers. The new regulation applies to all foreign visitors except high-level government officials, he said.
The fourth most populous country in the world has struggled to contain the spread of the new coronavirus since registering its first case in March, now with nearly 720,000 confirmed infections and 21,500 deaths, among the highest in Asia.
It announced 5,854 new infections and 215 deaths on Monday, with a positivity rate of more than 20 percent in recent days.
In recent weeks, the Indonesian healthcare system has come under strain and hospitals on the island of Java have been forced to add more beds as emergency rooms near capacity.
Abdul Kadir, a senior health ministry official, said on Monday that hospitals were in danger of being overwhelmed by a possible spike in infections during the year-end holidays, and that occupancy in the capital Jakarta already reached 84 percent.
In West Java, Indonesia’s most populous province, hospital occupancy is currently 83 percent, and in East Java, 77 percent, he said.
“This means that these regions are in the red zone. Bed capacity is now in the red zone. Any increase will overwhelm hospitals, ”he said, adding that 500 beds would be added in the greater Jakarta area.
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