Surakarta – The epidemic of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-Cov) from Saudi Arabia, has induced the authority of Adi Sumarmo Airport, Surakarta, to take necessary precautions, by applying standard temperature check-ups of passengers from international flights. The Assistant Operational Manager of this airport, Rini Sri Rahayu, said that they have already set up the thermo scanner at the international arrival gate. “This instrument was installed during the swine flu virus epidemic some time ago. Now, we are optimizing its useâ€, she said on Thursday meeting, 8 May 2014.
She further said, that passengers indicated with MERS usually have a body temperature above normal and once they are detected, the health team will immediately take the necessary actions for these passengers. International flights in Adi Sumarmo Airport are Air Asia route Solo – Kuala Lumpur and Silk Air route Solo- Singapore. The schedules for Air Asia are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, meanwhile the schedules for Silk Air are on Thursdays and Saturdays. In one arrival, there are usually 100-120 passengers from each flight. She estimated that there are many Umrah groups from Surakarta using these flights, especially flights transiting in Malaysia and Singapore.
The Head Section of Health Authority Cross Port Health Offices in Semarang, dr. Arqu Aminuzab, said that the thermo scanner in Adi Sumarmo Airport is to check the body temperature of the passengers who just landed. If a passenger has a body temperature above 38 Celsius Degrees, the standby health officer will do further check up to identify whether passengers are infected with MERS-CoV or not. “Even though there is no direct flight from Saudi Arabia, we still have to stay alert,†he said. The Umrah groups usually land in Soekarno-Hatta Cengkareng International Airport and continue their journey to Surakarta. “Up until now, we have not found any passenger suspected with MERS. We are still safe for time being,†he said. [Diani Sekaring Sejati/Source: Tempo]
