Demonstrating Indonesia’s Reliability

Saudi Arabia\'s decision to temporarily ban pilgrims and tourists from 24 countries, including Indonesia, warrants consideration.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Would-be umrah (minor haj) pilgrims get an explanation from representatives of travel bureaus about the cancellation of their flights at the departure terminal of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, (27/2/2020). Hundreds of pilgrims from various regions that had arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport failed to fly to Saudi Arabia after airlines followed the decision of the Saudi Arabian government, which temporarily stopped the arrival of pilgrims from a number of countries. The temporary suspension is carried out to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The reasoning behind the temporary ban is to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19 disease to the pilgrims and tourists as well as residents of Saudi Arabia. To this day, Indonesia states that there have been no cases of coronavirus infection. One may question, therefore, why Indonesia is included on the list of 24 countries.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, commenting on the decision of the Saudi Arabian government, expressed respect for the policy as a form of preventive action. Meanwhile, Vice President Ma\'ruf Amin and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the Saudi government should exclude Indonesia from the list of 24 countries, especially for pilgrims who have already departed for and landed in Saudi Arabia.

Read more : We Are Suddenly Not Allowed to Go on ‘Umrah’

Considering public health, the suspension of the Saudi government is understandable. The new coronavirus spreads from human to human, mainly through fluids when sufferers sneeze or cough. Some scientists note that transmission can also occur when conversing at a close range, because there is a risk of coming in contact with someone’s fluid or saliva. Another thing to watch out for is the virus’s ability to survive outside the human body, such as on the surface of objects, for up to four days. What makes the virus hard to control is that not all infected people show clinical symptoms, such as fever, cough or a runny nose.

There are many questions from various groups, including the international community, regarding the actual spread of the new coronavirus in Indonesia.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

An umrah (minor haj) pilgrim from Lombok sleeps on a bench at a waiting area in the departure hall of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday (27/2/2020). Hundreds of umrah pilgrims from across the country were unable to go on the pilgrimage after the Saudi Arabia government banned the visit of foreigners to Mecca and Medina amid COVID-19 fears.

A Chinese citizen from Wuhan was found to be infected with the new coronavirus after returning from Indonesia. Also, a Japanese citizen was found to be infected upon his return from Indonesia. While it is possible that neither of them contracted the virus in Indonesia, the public has yet to be convinced that the two foreign citizens didn\'t pass the virus on to people who came in contact with them while they were staying in Indonesia.

The international community needs to be convinced that Indonesia’s COVID-19 infection detection and management system is reliable. The government could require that umrah pilgrims go through a quarantine process first. On the other hand, the government also needs to ensure that, according to religious teachings, safety must be prioritized.

We have learned from the experience of quarantining Indonesian citizens who were repatriated from China’s Hubei province, the capital city of which, Wuhan, is the epicenter of the outbreak. The quarantine process was recognized and evaluated by representatives of the World Health Organization in Indonesia. This is capital to convince the international public about Indonesia\'s readiness.

As part of a global society with open information, we can respond to doubts of outsiders by showing that Indonesia meet WHO standards. We can also form a cross-institutional task force to respond to such doubts.