Indonesian President Joko Widodo has announced that the country will no longer require negative COVID tests from fully vaccinated international travelers. The change will come into force on Wednesday, May 18th, as the country also eases its outdoor mask-wearing policy.
Indonesia changes pre-departure test requirement
Vaccinated travelers entering Indonesia will no longer need to present a negative PCR or antigen test. Indonesian President Joko Widodo made the announcement on Tuesday as the country's COVID situation improves.
President Joko Widodo said,
"Domestic and international travelers who are fully vaccinated no longer need to take PCR or antigen swab tests."
Under Indonesia's previous rules, fully vaccinated international travelers must show a negative COVID test result taken within 48 hours of entering the country. However, unvaccinated visitors will still need to undergo a five-day quarantine and take two PCR tests.
A spokesperson for Indonesia’s COVID-19 task force, Wiku Adisasmito, confirmed at a separate press conference that the changes will be implemented from today (Wednesday, May 18th).
Adisasmito said,
"The instructions will be elaborated in a number of regulations and will be effective on May 18. We hope the policy will be implemented well. However, people are expected to remain vigilant and adapt to future changes."
Tourism boom coming?
The removal of testing requirements for vaccinated travelers will be good news to airlines and tourists alike. Indonesia has long been a leading tourism destination in Asia, welcoming over 16 million travelers in 2019.
Over 2021, this figure dropped to just 1.56 million. Several airlines have already resumed flights to Indonesia - Emirates returned to Bali with the 777 after a two-year absence earlier this month.
Other airlines to return to Bali this year include Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, AirAsia, Scoot, KLM and Malaysia Airlines.
Discover more aviation news with Simple Flying.
Mask requirement update
Indonesia will also update its mask-wearing policy by making outdoor masks optional. Following the decisions of Singapore and Malaysia to loosen their COVID restrictions recently, Indonesia is also set to change its own rules.
The Indonesian government will evaluate its COVID policy on May 23rd before making changes. The country currently restricts opening hours and capacity limits on public establishments like restaurants and shops.
For now, masks will still be required on public transport, in crowded outdoor spaces and indoor areas.
Adisasmito added,
"If people are conducting activities in outdoor spaces which are not crowded, they are allowed to not wear masks. However, for indoor activities and on public transportation, (people) must still wear masks."
The COVID-19 outlook in Indonesia has improved significantly in recent weeks. The country is now recording between 200 and 400 cases per day, down from a peak of 50,000 daily cases in March.
Do you have any trips to Indonesia coming up? Are you more likely to visit now that the testing requirement has been dropped? Let us know in the comments.