Lenny Tristia Tambun & Herman, Jakarta – The elderly population accounts for 44 percent of the 356 Covid-19 deaths since Indonesia confirmed its first case of the highly contagious Omicron variant in mid-December 2021, according to the government.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on Monday that Covid-19 has claimed 356 lives since Indonesia detected Omicron. This means that 156 of the 356 Covid-related deaths were the elderly.
"A majority of the Covid-19 patients being treated in severe, critical [conditions], and that have passed away are the elderly. So I ask the unvaccinated elders to get vaccinated," Luhut told a press conference on Monday.
According to Luhut, 42 percent of the 356 Covid-related deaths were people with comorbidities. About 69 percent were not fully vaccinated.
Luhut has recently garnered attention for his statement at the Nahdlatul Ulama 96th anniversary. The 74 year-old minister asked people aged 60 years and older to stay home for the next month to prevent further spread of Omicron.
"I suggest for the next two weeks to a month, the people aged 60 years and above, to better stay at home for a while," Luhut said on Saturday.
The same goes to those who have not gotten both vaccine doses, and individuals with comorbidities, Luhut added.
Entry points
On the same day, the government clarified that foreign tourists could still enter Indonesia via Tangerang's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, after announcing over the weekend that only three airports would accept foreign tourist arrivals.
The Transportation Ministry on Sunday published a press release on the issuance of a new circular on international travelers on air transport.
The release wrote that, when the circular is in effect, Indonesian and foreign tourists from abroad could only enter Indonesia through Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport, Batam's Hang Nadim airport, and Tanjung Pinang's Raja Haji Fisabilillah.
The government announced on the next day that international tourists would still be able to arrive at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, in addition to the said three airports.
"International tourists can still [enter Indonesia] through the Soekarno-Hatta Airport," Fitri Indah S., a representative from the air transportation directorate general at the Transportation Ministry, said on Monday.
According to Fitri, the directorate general is in the process of revising the new circular, while still referring to the Covid-19 taskforce circular on health protocols for international travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.