After the Ministry of Health confirmed Indonesia’s first monkeypox infection in Jakarta, health experts in Bali said the local government needs to prepare measures to prevent the virus from spreading to the tourism-reliant province.
The ministry’s spokesman Mohammad Syahril said over the weekend that an Indonesian man, aged 27, tested positive for monkeypox upon returning from an overseas trip. Syahril did not reveal which country (or countries) the patient had visited, but confirmed that he is currently self-isolating at home.
WHO has declared monkeypox a global health emergency – as of now, 89 countries have reported monkeypox infections in their territories.
The Denpasar chapter of the Indonesian Doctors’ Association (IDI) today urged the Bali administration to tighten screenings for monkeypox in order to fend off its spread to the island.
“Learning from COVID-19, together we can tighten [safety measures] at the entries in Bali, such as screenings at the airport and seaport,” Denpasar IDI Chairman Dr Ketut Widiyasa said.
While Bali’s tourism industry is bouncing back and the island currently sees about 9,000 international travelers visiting the island daily, the fact remains that the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the island’s most important sector since early 2020.
Ketut said that, in addition to tightening entry screenings, the Bali administration should also prepare labs and other facilities to house monkeypox patients. He added that Bali should also increase the capacity of lab networks in diagnosing suspected monkeypox patients as recommended by WHO.
“Most important is to educate the people on the epidemic, symptoms, spread, and prevention steps,” he said.
Separately, Ngurah Rai International Airport General Manager Handy Heryudhitiawan said yesterday that Bali’s airport is installing thermal scanners to check arriving passengers’ temperatures for both domestic and international flights.
“If [a passenger’s] temperature is higher than normal, further medical checkup will be conducted by the port’s health agency,” he said.
