June 23, 2021 – Page 3 – Indonesia News Gazette

June 23, 2021

President urges public to not refuse vaccination

Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Joko Widodo has urged Indonesians to get vaccinated as soon as they have the opportunity to do so and asked them not to refuse vaccination.

“This is for all of our safety. Vaccination is the best available option at the moment,” Widodo said from the Bogor Presidential Palace on Wednesday.

He reiterated that only when everyone works in the same direction can Indonesia overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Indonesian government is targeting to vaccinate one million people per day in July this year as it strives to achieve herd immunity in the country.

In the meantime, Widodo has appealed to the people to strictly adhere to health protocols and not leave their homes for non-essential matters.

“Everyone needs to play their role, everyone needs to contribute, without that unity, we will not be able to stem the spread of COVID-19,” he said.

In addition, he has asked provincial, district, and city leaders to strengthen their commitment and enforce the micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM Mikro) more strictly.

Based on data from the COVID-19 Task Force, Indonesia added 13,668 infections as of June 22, 2021, bringing the total tally to 2,018,113 cases. Meanwhile, the number of recoveries increased by 8,375 to reach 1,810,136 and fatalities rose by 335 to touch 55,291.

Meanwhile, the number of Indonesians who have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose increased by 524,111 to reach 23,789,884, while the number of fully vaccinated people climbed by 194,531 to 12,514,917 as of 12 p.m. on June 22, 2021. (INE)

Source: Antara News

June 23, 2021

Tourism can revive if public adheres to health protocols: Uno

Magelang (ANTARA) – Tourism and Creative Economy Minister, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, has said that the tourism sector can revive amid the pandemic if all stakeholders adhere to the health protocols.

“All of our activities should be in accordance with the micro-scale public activity restrictions (Micro PPKM) and we can only revive (tourism) if we observe the health protocols,” Uno said while observing a business training on cluster-based tourism at super-prioritized destination Borobudur, Magelang, West Java on Wednesday.

As many as 61 homestay owners in Borobudur area took part in the tourism business training, organized at the village economy hall (Balkondes) Tuksongo.

The ministry’s activities always refer to zoning and coordination with the regional administrations and local task forces, Uno pointed out.

He observed that business training is important since it not only helps homestay managers to build physical infrastructure, but also manage digital aspects, such as designing creative content for promotion.

“I am sure that such trainings are the right programs to assist the public in need. This is a part of the ministry’s fair programs,” Uno remarked.

The minister also asked homestay managers not to indulge in price wars and be less competitive. Fellow homestay managers can serve as friends and help revive tourism, he said.

“You all have to agree with the fair price and stick to it together. What we compete on is the service quality, so do not offer much discounts that will lead to shutting down one’s business. Setting the high price is also not good. Do not be like that, let it be in accordance with the dealt standard,” he advised.

He also expressed the hope that tourism would revive in tourist villages. (INE)

Source: Antara News

June 23, 2021

Indonesian envoy, Qatari minister discuss education cooperation

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar, Ridwan Hassan, met with Qatari Minister of Education and Higher Learning, Mohammed Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi, in Doha on Tuesday to discuss ways to boost bilateral cooperation in the field of education.

At least two thousand Indonesian students are currently enrolled in different schools and universities in Qatar, according to the Qatari Ministry of Education and High Learning.

Most of them are studying in Qatar as their parents are working in the country, the Indonesian Embassy in Qatar said in a press statement released on Wednesday.

Some of them are pursuing higher education in one of the world’s richest countries at their own initiative, it added.

Some Indonesian students have received scholarships from the Qatari government. A total of 11 Indonesians are studying at Ma’had Diniy (senior high schools) on scholarship from the Qatari government. During the meeting with Al Hammadi, the Indonesian ambassador expressed the hope that the Qatari government would provide scholarships to more Indonesian students. He also invited more Qatari students to pursue higher education in Indonesia.

As a rapidly growing nation and a major player in the region, Qatar needs to know more about Indonesia, Hassan said.

At the meeting, Hassan and Al Hammadi also discussed the Indonesian Islamic International University (UIII), which is expected to help the Islamic world spread the message of rahmatan lil alamin (blessing for the whole universe) and return to the grand tradition of Muslims in the field of science and technology.

Al Hammadi expressed keen interest in UIII and voiced the hope that the Qatari government would take concrete steps to help Indonesia promote the university.

“We are waiting for broader cooperation with this university,” he said. (INE)

Source: Antara News

June 23, 2021

Ministry emphasizes criticality of adequate TPT in Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Health Ministry accentuated the necessity for adequate tuberculosis prevention therapy (TPT) to eradicate the disease in the country.

“The number of TPT in Indonesia is quite low, never more than 10 percent of the target. If the therapy is not given adequately, our efforts to eliminate tuberculosis in the country will not be achieved although we have found and treated all patients,” Head of Sub-Directorate of Tuberculosis of the ministry, Imran Pambudi, stated during a discussion at the National Tuberculosis Partnership Forum on Wednesday.

Pambudi remarked that TPT is an alternative approach to eradicate tuberculosis in Indonesia, and this therapy should be applied to populations at risk, including children under five, who have close contact with active pulmonary tuberculosis patients, and people with HIV/AIDS. In 2024, the government has set a target to provide TPT to 1.1 million people at risk.

Meanwhile, tuberculosis cases are estimated to have reached around 9.96 million cases globally, with 6.17 million of them being male patients.

Indonesia is included in eight countries in the world that constitute two-thirds of the global tuberculosis cases. Indonesia ranks second after India, with an estimated number of cases reaching 845 thousand and deaths recorded at 98 thousand per year. Out of the figure, 349,549 cases are estimated to be notified, with treatment services, at 41.4 percent, and a cure rate of 84.4 percent.

Out of the total tuberculosis cases in Indonesia, 8,060 cases are estimated to be of drug-resistant tuberculosis, a condition in which Mycobacterium tuberculosis has developed immunity to Anti Tuberculosis Drugs.

Pambudi explained that the number of tuberculosis cases had spread across 34 provinces in Indonesia, with the largest number of cases last year being in West Java, East Java, Central Java, DKI Jakarta, and North Sumatra. Meanwhile, the disease mostly affects people in the productive age group.

By 2024, the government is targeting to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis to 190 per 100,000 population and a reduction in the death rate due to the disease to 27 per 100,000 population.

To achieve this target, the government has applied several strategies, including by strengthening program leadership at the central, provincial, and district/city levels.

Moreover, Pambudi emphasized that local governments played a crucial role in tackling cases of tuberculosis.

“No matter how good the program is implemented by the central government, the program will fail if the local government does not realize it,” he pointed out.

Another strategy is to increase access to quality and patient-friendly tuberculosis treatment services, step up promotion and prevention, treatment delivery, infection prevention and control, and also capitalize on research results and technology for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of tuberculosis.

In addition, collaboration with communities, partners, and multiple sectors is deemed important, including efforts to strengthen the health system to bolster program management.

Source: Antara News

June 23, 2021

68 Indonesian fishermen facing trespassing charges abroad

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Sixty-eight Indonesian fishermen have been charged with trespassing in other countries, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has disclosed.

The number of Indonesian fishermen found trespassing the territories of other countries is still high, director of violation handling at the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Teuku Elvitrasyah, said in a press statement released in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“Some of our fishermen are facing legal process in Malaysia, India, Thailand, and Papua New Guinea. Their number is about 68,” he informed.

In the past three years, 140 Indonesian fishermen have been arrested in several countries, he said.

Therefore, the ministry has continued to implement different approaches to improve the fishermen’s understanding and awareness, he added.

One such approach involved familiarizing fishermen with the ban on trespassing the territory of other countries during a meeting held in Rayeuk, East Aceh district, Aceh province.

“This is our effort to nurture Indonesian fishermen so other countries will not arrest them any longer for violating state borders,” Elvitrasyah said.

Many traditional Indonesian fishermen have been arrested abroad in the past because they did not clearly know Indonesia’s sea borders with other countries, he pointed out.

This happened because they were not equipped with navigation and communication devices and did not have sea maps, he said.

“It is necessary for them to understand technical matters related to territorial borders so they will no longer violate the state borders,” he added.

Source: Antara News

June 23, 2021

Commuter line users decline on second day of PPKM

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The number of people using the commuter line in Jakarta fell on Wednesday, the second day of public movement restrictions (PPKM), according to PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KAI Commuter).

“The number of commuter line users has fallen along with the declining number of people using public transport mode to carry out outdoor activities,” vice president and corporate secretary of KAI Commuter, Anne Purba, said in a written statement released on Wednesday.

KAI Commuter recorded 125 thousand commuter line users as of 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday, down 4 percent compared to 130,150 the previous day. Several major stations, including Bojonggdede, Citayam, Bogor, and Bekasi, witnessed a decline in the number of commuter line users.

Jakarta has enforced stricter micro-scale public movement restrictions (PPKM) to stem coronavirus transmission amid a surge in cases over the last few weeks.

The capital city added 5,014 new cases in a single day on June 21, 2021, pushing the total tally to 479,043 cases. It recorded 5,582 cases on June 20, 2021 and 4,895 cases on June 19, 2021, a drastic jump from 856 new cases on May 21, 2021.

As of June 21, 2021, as many as 32,060 Jakartans were undergoing treatment or isolation after contracting the infection, while 71 people had succumbed to it, taking the death toll to 7,976.

The COVID-19 recovery rate remained high at 95.4 percent, while the mortality rate was recorded at 1.7 percent. (INE)

Source: Antara News