Indonesia bans foreign tourists as coronavirus spikes

Gulf Today Report

Indonesia will tighten social restrictions in the capital Jakarta and the holiday island of Bali as coronavirus cases rise sharply, a senior minister said on Monday.

The country has temporarily banned foreign tourists entering the country through Jakarta's airport, the transport ministry said, in a bid to slow a spike in coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant.

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For the whole of 2021, gross domestic product expanded 3.69%, compared with a 2.07% contraction the year before, as the economy recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Southeast Asian country has seen a jump in cases, with more than 36,000 infections recorded on Sunday and the bed occupancy rate at hospitals in the capital reaching 63%.

The country has temporarily banned foreign tourists entering the country through Jakarta's airport.

The move to bar tourists flying to Jakarta comes just days after Bali welcomed the first international flight in nearly two years carrying foreign visitors.

The new regulations apply to foreign tourists and Indonesians who have travelled abroad for holidays, the ministry said in a statement released late on Sunday.

Indonesia's economic growth accelerated in the final quarter of last year as consumption perked up following the easing of anti-virus mobility restrictions and as stronger commodity prices pushed exports to record highs.

Indonesia has seen a jump in cases, with more than 36,000 infections.

The decision to "temporarily restrict tourist arrivals" was intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus, said Novie Riyanto, director general for civil aviation at the ministry.

Tourists flying from abroad will still be able to arrive at Bali airport, as well as at Batam and Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands near Singapore.

Police have also implemented a curfew in downtown Jakarta from midnight to 4am as infections have kept climbing.

Indonesian officials have warned that the surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant may not peak until late February.