Sports Ministry May 'Adjust' Covid Quarantine to Suit MotoGP Event

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Sports and Youth Minister Zainudin Amali, after a meeting with Indonesian Olympics Committee Raja Sapta Oktohari on Wednesday, said that the ministry aims to adjust the country's Covid-19 quarantine regulation to Better suit the upcoming Mandalika MotoGP event.

He is eyeing to propose a special discretion for international athletes entering Indonesia. The meeting also saw representatives of the national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) present.

This comes after the CEO of Dorna Sports - which oversees the MotoGP racing series - Carmelo Ezpeleta gave a comment suggesting he would arbitrarily cancel a racing event if the host country imposed a lengthy quarantine period for international travelers.

"The BNPB completely supports these steps and understands the condition we are in. But they have not been able to make a decision and I was advised to submit this to be discussed in a limited meeting in the near future so that they have a basis," said Zainudin, Antaranews reported.

Raja Sapta Oktohari previously proposed the same thing after hearing experiences from the national federation.

"We propose the quarantine discretion of sports players. This is necessary because there are many multi-events this year. It is impossible when international competitions, athletes, officials, and foreign committees are subjected to a long quarantine. There must be a solution, we can use the bubble system," he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Motorcycle Association (IMI) Chair Bambang Sosatyo is set to meet with former TNI Commander Hadi Tjahjanto to regulate health issues in the implementation of the Mandalika MotoGP.

Read: Indonesia Responds to MotoGP Boss' Stand Against Quarantine

ANTARA