Thermal Scanning at Bali Airport
If you feel like you have a temperature on the airplane while travelling to Bali, expect a reaction when you go through Airport checks at Ngurah Rai, Bali. Don't be alarmed. Bali Health Office is just being careful for the sake of visitors and residents alike.
The symptoms of the Zika virus are similar to dengue fever. The most common symptoms of the Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. The illness is usually mild with the symptoms lasting a week.
Coconuts Bali reports (5 February 2016) that ‘travelers coming to Indonesia via Bali can expect to have their temperatures read with a thermal scanner at Ngurah Rai International Airport.
“Passengers who were two seats in front, left, right, and to the rear of the passenger suspected to be infected, will also be quarantined. This is to prevent them from being infected with the virus,” he added.
The Jakarta Post reported that
Indonesia will step up preventive measures against the Zika virus after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global emergency.
"I emphasize the anticipatory measures and steps that should become synergistic action across all sectors," said President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in a limited Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The supervision at the entrance of the country also needs to be improved to prevent the possibility of this virus being brought in from countries where it exists, the President added.
Jokowi reminded the need for early detection as an initial step to monitor the virus’ spread through bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector for dengue. Therefore, Jokowi continued, a campaign to mobilize the public in fighting against mosquitoes should be strengthened.
On the Other Hand, Good News.
Bali dengue cases drop significantly from last year: Bali Health Office
Coconuts Bali also reports that Bali’s Provincial Health Office provided some welcome news that the island’s number of dengue fever cases has declined significantly from January to early February 2016.
The health office’s head, Ketut Suarjaya, says that there were 1,000 reported cases of the mosquito-borne virus in January 2015, while there were only 473 cases so far this year during the same period. Perhaps it has something to do with such a delayed rainy season and therefore a lack of puddles and standing water for mosquitoes to vigorously breed in.
Suarjaya credits the decline in dengue to increased socialization by the Department of Health and increased fogging in Denpasar.
News from Coconuts Bali and Jakarta Post.
Photo: content.time.com611
A thermal scanner installed in Incheon Airport in Seoul displays the body temperatures of passengers arriving.
