Jakarta (ANTARA) - A total of 114,587 Indonesian citizens returned back to the country during the course of the last three months amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Over a period of nearly three months, from March 18 to June 17, 2020, we have recorded that over 110 thousand, or precisely 114,587 Indonesians returned to the country," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi noted during a video press briefing here on Thursday.
The number of Indonesian citizens returning from overseas rose by 3.7 percent, or 4,130 individuals during the course of a week. The returnees were mostly from Malaysia, crew members, and Indonesian repatriated citizens.
Marsudi pointed out that 83,035 Indonesian citizens had returned from Malaysia, an increase of two percent, from that recorded in the previous week.
In the meantime, 23,297 Indonesian crew members returned from 30 countries to Indonesia through five entry points in Jakarta and Bali.
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The number of returning Indonesian crew members rose by 1,564 people, or 7.2 percent, from that of last week.
In the meantime, 8,255 people repatriated from 49 nations, including four from South Korea and two from Peru, arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday (June 17).
The number of repatriated Indonesian citizens returning to the country increased by 956 people, or 13.1 percent.
Furthermore, during the period from March 18 to June 17, 2020, the Indonesian government, through the Indonesian Embassy (Consulate) and consulates in Malaysia, distributed 304,608 packages of daily essentials to its citizens.
The Indonesian Diaspora in Malaysia also sent 109,168 similar packages, thereby bringing the total number of aid packages distributed to Indonesian citizens in Malaysia to 413,776.
Worldwide, a total of 481,940 aid packages were distributed to Indonesians overseas, Marsudi noted.
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