Influenza: Tourists required to wear masks upon arrival in Indonesia

[FrenchieGirl]

[Google Translation]

Influenza: Tourists encouraged to wear masks upon arrival in Indonesia

JAKARTA - Indonesia will ask travelers from countries affected by influenza A (H1N1) wear a mask during the three days following their arrival in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus, a minister announced Monday.

The first cases of flu in the archipelago were identified last week, especially among Australian tourists coming to spend their vacation on the island of Bali.

"The visitors from affected countries will be invited to wear a mask. We give them to the airport and ask them to wear it for three days, told AFP the Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari after a meeting Inter on the subject.

"This is a precautionary measure to prevent transmission of the virus," said the minister, stressing that the refusal of wearing a mask would not be punished.

Indonesia has so far recorded eight cases of influenza A (H1N1), four on the Australian tourists and four Indonesians from countries affected.

Ms Supari had declared last week "very concerned about the people who come from Australia, currently the country most affected by the virus in the Asia-Pacific.

Indonesia is the country most affected by the world's avian influenza (H5N1) and feared a possible mutation of the virus with that of influenza A (H1N1).

(? AFP / 29 June 2009 12:21)

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Influenza: Tourists required to wear masks upon arrival in Indonesia

All arrivals from H1N1-affected countries required to wear masks

Monday, June 29, 2009

(ANTARA/Nyoman Budhiana)Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government will require all people arriving in Indonesia from countries affected by Influenza A (H1N1) or swine flu to use face masks for at least three days as a precaution against the spread of the disease, a minister said.


"People coming from affected countries will have to wear face masks for three days as the incubation period of the disease is at least three days," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said after attending a coordination ministerial meeting on the prevention of the swine flu here on Monday.

Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie who chaired the meeting, said the government would soon allocate funds for the disposable masks to be made available at international airports and seaports.

"The funds are being collected, not only for the mask supply. Parts of the funds are from the budgets for the health ministry and the Bird Flu National Commission," he said after the meeting which was also attended by Transportation Minister Jusman Sjafii Djamal.

Minister Bakrie said the government set up a coordination post on the prevention of the swine flu. The coordination post is based at the coordinating minister for people`s welfare office.

"This is to monitor and report every step on Influenza A control, to support the existing Health Post," he said.

The measure would be taken to prevent the swine flu spreading among Indonesians, he said, adding that so far the swine flu cases in Indonesia involved those from abroad.

Health Minister Siti Fadilah said that the government has intensified surveillance in all health facilities such as hospitals, seaport/airport health posts, and laboratories, to anticipate the spreading of the swine flu.

The government has also prepared logistics, anti-virus medicines and human resources, she said.

"We have adequate Tamiflu, but I cannot give you the detail," the minister said.
So far, Indonesia has detected eight cases of swine flu. Of the eight swine flu patients, four are foreigners and another four are Indonesians coming from swine flu-affected nations. Seven of them are currently being hospitalized and one has recovered.

Both Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the health ministry`s director general of disease control and environmental health, and Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of the national commission for the bird flu control and pandemic influenza preparedness, said after the coordination meeting, that internal meetings would be organized to discuss technical matters of the government`s decision on swine flu preventive measure. (*)

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