The Bali provincial government has made it compulsory for travelers entering Bali via Ngurah Rai International Airport and Benoa Port to undergo a swab test, following the loosening of travel restrictions by the Indonesian Transportation Ministry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In response to this policy [from the Transportation Ministry] we cannot close ourselves off, but we can respond by stricter means of screening of people entering Bali,” regional secretary of the Bali administration, Dewa Made Indra, said on Saturday.
The Indonesian government began allowing limited types of travel early this month, in which public transportations like ferries and airlines are permitted to resume some of their services, after announcing a temporary ban on them in late April as part of an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the archipelago.
Related – Checking in: Long queues at Soekarno-Hatta airport amid flight suspensions
Most travelers coming through via both Ngurah Rai International Airport and Benoa Port are returning Indonesian migrant workers, thousands of whom were previously subject to rapid tests upon arrival. Indra explained that travelers coming through those two ports of entry will now be subject to swab tests using the PCR method.
“Other than that, whether they are Indonesian migrant workers or not, [they] must undergo quarantine,” Indra continued.
Bali has so far confirmed 348 positive COVID-19 cases, including 250 recoveries and four deaths.
hotfreight@gmail.com says
Thanks for the update.
Now I am canceling my flight to Bali, because I am not going to submit to a swab test by some worker who probably doesn’t practice good health techniques.