Jakarta – Indonesia is planning to ask all people arriving from Australia and other swine flu-affected countries to wear face masks for at least three days, the health minister says.
The presence of the A(H1N1) virus was confirmed in Indonesia only last week and so far four of the eight known cases have been foreigners.
Jakarta last week introduced new controls on visitors from Australia, including quarantining of people showing flu-like symptoms, after two people who had flown in from Melbourne and Perth became Indonesia's first confirmed cases of the virus.
Now Indonesia looks set to go a step further with a measure that could affect even healthy tourists.
"Visitors from infected countries should wear masks. It's a precautionary measure we're taking to avoid human-to-human transmission of the virus," Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said yesterday.
"We'll give them the masks when they arrive at the airports and tell them to wear them for three days."
But the minister said the government had no intention of enforcing the precaution, which could seriously damage the country's stuttering tourism industry.
"There'll be no penalty if people don't wear them. You can't expect people to wear masks when they're swimming," Dr Supari said, adding that the masks would be handed out to visitors as soon as possible, depending on funding.
Dr Supari said last week she was particularly worried about Australian tourists who flocked to the famous surf beaches of Bali. More than 300,000 Australian holidaymakers visited the island last year.
Australia is the Asia-Pacific country worst hit by swine flu, with more than 4000 cases.
Dr Supari made the announcement after a ministerial meeting to discuss the swine flu outbreak in Indonesia.
Indonesia's concerns are heightened by the fact it had been the country hit hardest by avian influenza, with 115 deaths since 2005.
Under measures announced last week, anyone arriving from Australia who has a temperature en route is required to alert cabin crew before arrival.
Passengers entering Indonesia will receive a health-check card instructing them to seek medical attention if they fall ill.