Learning from Covid-19, Airport Surveillance Tightened to Prevent Hantavirus Spread

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Learning from the Covid-19 pandemic, surveillance for entry into Indonesia via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta) has now been tightened to prevent the spread of Hantavirus type Hanta Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). Although cases of Hantavirus type HPS have been found, such as on the MV Hondius cruise ship, the government continues to monitor because this virus can spread between humans through close and prolonged contact. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that the Hantavirus outbreak detected on the MV Hondius cruise ship does not mark the beginning of a new pandemic. Despite claiming lives, the UN health agency states that the overall public health risk remains low. “So we are tightening surveillance on countries that have already identified or detected the Hanta virus,” said the Head of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Health Task Force, Naning Nugrahini, in Tangerang on Tuesday (12/5/2026), as reported by Antara. Naning explained that special surveillance is conducted on passengers arriving from the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, and Panama. Soetta Airport is once again implementing health screening standards for international travellers entering Indonesia. Checks are carried out through filling out health declarations in the Satu Sehat app, body temperature checks using thermal scanners, and visual observation for signs and symptoms of illness. “We also have special ambulances for infectious diseases. Because the people we transport, whom we refer, are those with infectious diseases,” she said. House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani has called on all stakeholders to promptly take anticipatory and mitigation measures to prevent the spread of Hantavirus. Puan emphasised the importance of early vigilance so that the virus’s spread does not widen, as experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. “All stakeholders should anticipate and carry out mitigation; do not treat this as something that does not need anticipation and mitigation, only for it to become widespread and lead to unwanted consequences, like what happened during Covid,” Puan said at the Senayan parliamentary complex on Tuesday (12/5/2025).