Indonesia employs bubble system at G20 summit

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia, as the 2022 host of the Group of 20 economic forum, will introduce a bubble system for the forum’s summit later this year as a precaution against COVID-19, as the government rides out a third wave of infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron strain.

The Indonesian is setting up a health protocol bubble system for in-person meetings, according to the national COVID-19 task force earlier this week.

Under this system, summit organisers will establish four separate “bubbles” – areas of restricted access and engagement – within which participants are expected to have most of their interactions, in addition to limited and controlled contact with participants in other bubbles.

The first bubble is for G20 country delegates, the second for regular G20 participants and journalists, the third for G20 event organisers and field officers, and the fourth for operational and supporting staff.

The G20 bubble system includes hotel accommodations, meeting venues and supporting facilities to be used during the summit.

The Communications and Information Ministry’s director general for information and public communication, Usman Kansong, said the government will ensure that the populations around each venue will be 70 percent vaccinated, while all hotel and venue staffers will be fully vaccinated.

The government was confident that the bubble system will be effective, after the success of the G20 Sherpa meeting in December and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting last month, he said. Both meetings employed bubble systems.

Previously, the Health Ministry’s spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmidzi said that all G20 participants would have to adhere to strict health protocols during their activities at the summit, just like at any other meeting held during the pandemic.

All participants will have to show proof of having received two COVID-19 vaccine doses at least 14 days prior to their arrival, in addition to being verified by the Health Ministry’s electronic health card (eHAC) system for international travel. All attendants must also provide negative PCR test results taken a maximum of three days before their departure and documentation confirming G20 attendance.

They will be expected to undergo regular COVID-19 screening throughout their stay.

All foreign nationals in attendance must, in addition to their visa requirements, have health insurance coverage of 25,000 USD at least. Those who test positive are to be treated at a quarantine facility away from the G20 bubble sites or taken to a hospital./.