Indonesia faces fresh wave of COVID-19 infections with return of migrant workers: Foreign Minister

Jakarta, May 11 (AP) Indonesia's foreign minister says the country faces a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections with the return of migrant workers and cruise ship employees.

Foreign minister Retno Marsudi on Monday asked returning migrant workers to respect health protocols.

Marsudi said about 90,000 Indonesian migrant workers had already returned to the country since the coronavirus outbreak from several countries, including nearly 73,000 from neighboring Malaysia alone.

She said the government has stepped up measures to anticipate the influx of migrant workers returning home by ramping up testing and setting up quarantine locations across the archipelago nation, which is home to 270 million people.

Indonesia has reported 14,265 COVID-19 infections and 991 deaths as of Monday. (AP) SCYSCY