The man, who was identified by authorities only as “DW,” had tested positive for Covid-19. He then disguised himself as his wife and used her identification and negative PCR test to board a domestic Citilink flight from Jakarta to Ternate. Citilink is a low-cost carrier operated by Garuda Indonesia, the country’s largest airline.

Police chief Aditya Laksimada said after arresting the man upon landing. He was only identified by his initials.

A flight attendant saw the man change clothes before leaving the aircraft and alerted airport authorities, he said.

The man was detained after the plane landed and was tested immediately, local media reported. He was ordered to self-isolate at home after the test turned out positive.

The man is currently self-isolating at home and police said the investigation will continue.

Indonesia is in the grip of the worst coronavirus surge in Asia with 33,772 new confirmed cases and 1,383 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of reported cases is 2.9 million with 77,583 fatalities.

Indonesia’s daily death toll has been consistently above 1,000 since July 16.

The explosion in COVID-19 cases has overwhelmed hospitals across the islands of Java and Bali in recent weeks.

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