Tourists must now download Mpox tracing app before travelling to Bali

Travellers heading to Bali will now be forced to complete a new requirement before landing to the popular island hotspot. See what it is.

Tourists heading to Bali will now be required to download the monkeypox tracing app before arriving, in an effort to curb the spread of the deadly disease.

Over the past few weeks, Indonesian authorities have introduced new screening measures, including arrival forms and thermal imaging cameras at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.

And now, travellers must download the Ministry of Health’s smartphone app and complete the electronic form.

The ministry’s Director General of Air Transportation Kristi Endah Murni said that the rule applies to all foreign travellers, including the flight crew and passengers.

Tourists heading to Bali will now be required to download the monkeypox tracing app before arriving. Picture: Getty Images.

“Every foreign traveller flying to Indonesia must fill out an electronic self-declaration form called the SATUSEHAT Health Pass,” she stated.

The move is in response to the World Health Organisation declaring the recent outbreaks of Mpox as a public health emergency and of international concern.

Bali airport’s general manager Handy Heryudhitiawan said biosecurity teams had installed thermal imaging cameras at the arrivals terminals to help detect any passengers with high temperatures, a possible early symptom of Mpox.

However, Mr Heryudhitiawan assured passengers that this was a preventive measure and that the thermal screening was not targeting travellers from any particular destination or demographic.

Mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals that can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact. Picture: AFP.

The new app, SatuSehat, is the same government health monitoring app that was used in the months following the reopening of borders during the Covid pandemic.

Since the Public Health Emergency of International Concern status was announced by WHO in 2022, Indonesia has reported a total of 88 cases of Mpox.

Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono said that the health screening measures ensures everything continues to run smoothly for tourists and local communities in the area.

“We and the Health Quarantine Center have determined the screening scenario, starting from the placement of screening tools, the PCR (swab test) room, and questionnaires to the process of referring to hospitals,” he said.

The app can be downloaded from the Apple app store or the Google store for Android users.