JAKARTA : As Indonesia is battling a Covid crisis and locals are struggling to find oxygen and hospital beds, Bali decided to impose strict coronavirus regulations on tourists, by hook or by crook.
Three tourists in Bali were deported from the country after they were found flocking Covid rules in the open while vacationing in the tourist-friendly place.
These visitors were from the US, Russia, and Ireland. When they were found without face masks in the public spaces, the three visitors were out on a flight back to their home country.
“They broke minimum virus rules requiring face masks during the emergency restriction period,” said Jamaruli Manihuruk, head of Bali’s legal and justice office, which oversees immigration enforcement.
Not just these three, another woman from Russia was deported back to her home country for refusing to self-quarantine following a positive Covid test. She was allowed to stay in Bali till she recovered from the virus and was immediately put on a flight back to Russia as soon as she was declared virus-free.
These restrictions are now an important part of the country’s road to being virus-free. Indonesia has been struggling with the wide spread of the Delta variant, which has caused a record increase in coronavirus cases.
The government, last week, rolled out a set of fresh guidelines for people, to ensure the country is able to break the chain of Covid infections.
On Monday, Indonesia reported a record 40,427 new infections and 891 deaths in the last 24 hours.