An Indonesian man with Covid-19 disguised himself as his virus-free wife to board a commercial flight in the country, according to officials who arrested him.
The traveller, identified only as “DW”, allegedly wore a niqab covering his face as he flashed his better half’s identification card to slip on the recent Citilink flight from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Ternate, Philippines, according to CNN Indonesia.
The cross-dressing flyer allegedly also showed officials his spouse’s negative test results while claiming to be her, according to the outlet, which didn’t report when the incident happened.
But the traveller was foiled midair when a flight attendant saw him enter a bathroom wearing the veil – then leave in men’s clothing.
“He bought the plane ticket with his wife’s name and brought the identity card, the PCR test result and the vaccination card with his wife’s name. All documents are under his wife’s name,” Ternate police chief Aditya Laksimada said, Associated Press reported.
An officer on the plane quickly tested the man for Covid-19 and put personal protective gear on him after the test came back positive, Ternate Covid-19 Task Force operational head Muhammad Arif Gani said, according to the report.
The traveller was forced to evacuate, then taken by ambulance to his home to “self-isolate”, he said.
Local police said they will prosecute DW after the isolation period.
Indonesia has become a hot spot for coronavirus infections in recent weeks with nearly three million cases and 74,920 deaths reported as of Wednesday.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
