A Coronavirus-positive man was detained for boarding a Citilink flight using the disguise of a woman in Indonesia. The flight was bound from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to Ternate.
As per reports, the accused was identified by his initials ‘DW’. Since the man was diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus, it implied that he couldn’t board the Citilink flight. As such, DW wore a full-face veil (niqab), boarded the flight using his wife’s passport and negative RT-PCR report. He was successful in fooling the airline and security authorities at the Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport. Although his plan looked full-proof, he made a crucial mistake on board the flight.
When he went to use the washroom, he was dressed in female attire. However, he came out in regular men’s clothes and raised the suspicion of the stewardess on the flight. She immediately notified the airport authorities, who were waiting to nab DW once the flight landed at Ternate. Accordingly, the accused was detained at the Ternate airport. On being tested for Covid-19, the results came as positive. The Ternate City Covid-19 Handling Task Force was summoned to escort DW to his house in protective gear. After the self-isolation period, the police have expressed their intent to arrest the man.
While speaking about the incident, Covid-19 task force head Muhammad Arif informed, “The airport immediately contacted the Ternate City Covid-19 Handling Task Force team to evacuate the man while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), and then taking him in an ambulance to his house (in Ternate City) to self-isolate, where he will be supervised by Task Force officers.” The development comes at a time when the country is witnessing a rapid increase in Coronavirus cases.
Rising Coronavirus cases in Indonesia
The situation is so grim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has placed Indonesia under a Level 4 travel health notice. It implies that travel to Indonesia must be avoided, given that it has a very high level of Coronavirus cases. As of July 22, Indonesia has reported 5,61,384 active cases and a total of 72,000 fatalities. A slow vaccination programme has been cited as the leading cause of the spread of the Delta variant in the country. Since Indonesia is reporting close to 50000 cases each day, Garuda Indonesia that runs Citilink airlines has restricted travel between July 19-25.