Day: July 18, 2021

Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands (ANTARA) – Vice Health Minister Dante Saksono has lauded the vaccination rate in Riau Islands Province which recorded that 60.32 percent of its residents have received their first shot of COVID-19 vaccine.

“The vaccination rate in Riau Islands in the first phase (of vaccination program) which has reached more than 60 percent is quite good. We express gratitude (to the local government) for the achievement,” he said at a coordination meeting held virtually on Saturday to evaluate the implementation of tight micro public activity restrictions and emergency public activity restrictions .

Dante encouraged the Riau Islands provincial government to boost the vaccination drive in order to achieve herd immunity soon.

He further praised all sides that have ensured the success of the government’s vaccination program to break the chain of the COVID-19 spread. “We highly thank the TNI (National Defense Forces) , Polri (the National Police) and all relevant parties for their participation in administering vaccines to the people of Riau islands,” he said.

Meanwhile, acting secretary of the Riau Islands province Lamidi said the vaccination rate for people aged 18 years and above has reached 61.14 percent of the target of 1,140,997 recipients. This means that a total of 857,337 local residents have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

“By July 30, 2021, a total of 124,295 people must have received their first dose of vaccine,” he said.

He said 27.22 percent or 61,973 children aged between 12 and 18 years in the province have been vaccinated The province has targeted to vaccinate 228,245 children in the age group.

“We have set ourselves the target of completing the vaccination of children aged 12-18 years on July 23, 2021,” he said.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – BIN, Indonesia’s National Intelligence Agency, conducted door-to-door vaccination drive against COVID-19 in six provinces in Indonesia on Sunday.

“Today, in accordance with the President’s directives, BIN is holding door-to-door vaccinations for the public and students in remote areas of six provinces,” General (retired) Budi Gunawan, Head of BIN, said while reviewing the activity in Mekarsari Village, Ngamprah Sub-district, West Bandung District, West Java, Sunday.

in addition to West Bandung, other regions hosting the door-to-door vaccination activities were Central Java, Banten, East Kalimantan, Riau and South Sulawesi.

In the six provinces, he said, BIN was targeting to administer COVID-19 vaccine jabs to some 10,000 people.

Budi Gunawan said his agency hoped to help the government’s policy to accelerate the implementation of the national vaccination program to reach up to 3 million doses per day.

“Hence, the target of developing a herd immunity by reaching 70 percent (of the population) could be achieved by the end of 2021,” he said in a press release.

In addition to vaccination activities, BIN also provided social assistance comprising 10,000 packages of basic food and vitamins for residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the six provinces.

“Let’s continue to abide by the health protocols and pray that this pandemic will end soon,” Budi Gunawan said.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia added 44,721 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total count to 2,877,476, the COVID-19 Response Task Force reported.

Among the 34 provinces of Indonesia, Jakarta recorded the highest single-day increase in cases at 9,128, followed by West Java (7,777), and East Java (5,726).

Meanwhile, 29,264 people recovered from COVID-19 in a single day, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,261,658, with Jakarta reporting the highest number of daily recoveries at 11,857 on Sunday. .

With 1,093 people succumbing to the infection in the past 24 hours, the COVID-19 death toll has risen to 73,582 since the country reported the first infections in March 2020. The highest number of deaths was seen in East Java at 328.

The task force also recorded the number of active cases, or patients receiving treatment and conducting self-isolation increased 14,364 to touch 542,236 on Sunday.

The number of suspected cases swelled to 253,785.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The South Korean government has donated 350 oxygen concentrators and 35 ventilators to help Indonesia cope with an exponential spike in COVID-19 cases.

“No singe country is able to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic alone,” South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Park Tae-Sung said in a written statement released on Sunday.

As many as 200 of the 350 oxygen concentrators arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Sunday (July 18). The remaining 150 oxygen concentrators will arrive in Indonesia in not so distant future.

Park Tae-Sung said the COVID-19 pandemic should be faced with international solidarity and cooperation.

As Indonesia’s special strategic partner, South Korea will always cooperate with Indonesia in battling the COVID-19, he said. He expressed the hope that South Korean assistance will help secure the supply of oxygen concentrators in Indonesia.

South Korea will continue to cooperate with Indonesia in handling the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia including providing other humanitarian aid, he said.

This year, South Korea disbursed US$4 million or Rp57 billion in funds to help Indonesia as a manifestation of cooperation to increase its capacity in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides South Korea, several other countries, including Australia, Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Britain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and China have also offered help to Indonesia to deal with the explosion in COVID-19 cases.

With Indonesia recording an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases, several countries have stepped in to provide vaccines and medical equipment to help the nation fight the latest spike in infections.

Fifteen days since the imposition of public movement restrictions, Indonesia’s COVID-19 cases have continued to explode, with the country adding 51,952 daily cases on Saturday, bringing the tally to 2,832,755.

With 1,092 people succumbing to the virus in a single day, the death toll climbed to 72,489. Meanwhile, the number of daily recoveries reached 27,903, taking the total tally so far to 2,232,394.

Source: Antara News