Month: July 2021

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The government has appealed to people and all stakeholders to wear masks and maintain a safe physical distance during the implementation of emergency public activities restriction (PPKM) across Java and Bali on July 3-20, 2021.

The implementation guidelines for tightening public activities during the emergency PPKM imposed by the government in Jakarta on Thursday applies to all to wear masks properly and consistently as the minimum action of health protocols.

Furthermore, selection of the types of masks should focus on strengthening security, including by informing that surgical disposable masks are better than cloth masks, though N95 masks are better than surgical masks.

If the public does not have N95 masks, double surgical masks are the best alternative to wear. Moreover, the masks should be replaced if they have been worn for over four hours.

In addition, the residents looking to venture outdoors are obligated to maintain a two-meter distance while interacting with other people. Moreover, avoiding contact with people not staying in the same house is the most prudent approach currently. The government has also warned that COVID-19 is more contagious in these conditions: indoor, over-15-minute meeting; close interactions; activities necessitating strong breathing, such as singing, talking, and laughing; and not wearing masks while dining together.

The government has also regulated the ventilation, duration, and interaction distance in the efforts to reduce the transmission risk while conducting activities. Rooms should be properly ventilated. Doors and windows are suggested to be kept open to optimize air circulation.

If the doors and windows cannot be kept open, then the rooms should be equipped with air purifiers having HEPA filters. Conducting activities outdoors offers lower transmission risks as compared to doing activities indoors with other people.

In terms of the duration, indoor activities at the office should be based on schedules and rotation to help slash the duration during interaction with others. Meanwhile, the distance during interaction is considered safe if it is only maintained among people in the same house.

President Joko Widodo earlier stated that the emergency PPKM comprises public activity restrictions that are more stringent than those being currently imposed.

“Regarding details of the implementation of emergency PPKM, I have designated coordinating minister for maritime and investment to provide information pertaining to the restrictions,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – House of Representatives speaker Puan Maharani expressed optimism on the 75th anniversary of the Indonesian Police Force (POLRI) that the institution would stay close to Indonesians and that the bond would deepen.

Maharani reaffirmed that the police force that served the public for 75 years had brought a sense of safety and order and offered public service.

“Happy 75th anniversary to the Indonesian Bhayangkara. May the POLRI stay close to the hearts of the people,” Maharani noted in a statement received here on Thursday.

The speaker highlighted the heightened duties of the police force amid the COVID-19 pandemic since apart from maintaining safety and order and providing public service, they were also mandated to be present as part of the solution in handling the pandemic.

Maharani believes that the POLRI should continue to be present among the people, win over their hearts, and revive the spirit of working together.

“POLRI’s presence among the people brings Indonesia out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she affirmed.

The 75th anniversary of POLRI was themed “POLRI’s Transformation in Supporting Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling for the Health of the People and National Economic Recovery for an Onward Indonesia.”

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), Bambang Soesatyo, has urged the central and regional governments to strictly enforce public discipline during the implementation of emergency public activity restrictions in Java and Bali.

The Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) will be enforced in both areas from July 3-20, 2021.

“I ask the central and regional governments, including security agencies, to take firmer action in upholding discipline during the implementation of emergency PPKM without discriminating (against violators),” he said in a written statement released on Thursday.

Soesatyo asked the government to finalize the plan for emergency PPKM soon to handle the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

Each regional head must also make preparations for the emergency PPKM, he advised.

The MPR chief expressed the hope the new restrictions would be more effective in limiting public mobility over the next two weeks, particularly in regions which have recorded a big jump in COVID-19 cases.

He also requested the government to ensure the availability of health facilities for COVID-19 patients, including treatment rooms for patients, isolation rooms for asymptomatic patients, medical personnel, personal protective equipment, and oxygen and medicine supplies.

“Amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the health facilities used to treat COVID-19 have almost collapsed,” he noted.

He also proposed that the central and regional governments consider reviving the large-scale social distancing policy (PSBB), which was imposed at the start of the pandemic, besides implementing emergency PPKM in Java and Bali.

Indonesia’s COVID-19 cases have hit a record high of late, with daily cases reaching 21,807 on June 30, 2021, bringing the total tally to 2,178,272. Meanwhile, the death toll has climbed to 58,491.

As many as 13,329,738 Indonesians have received the full dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine under the national vaccination program as of June 29, 2021.

Since January 13, 2021, the government has been largely administering China’s Sinovac vaccine, besides AstraZeneca vaccines obtained under the COVAX facility.

The government is prioritizing healthcare workers under the immunization program. Data has indicated that a total of 405 doctors have succumbed to COVID-19 as of June 27 this year. (INE)

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has urged the public to stay calm during the implementation of the Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) in Java and Bali on July 3-20, 2021.

“I call on the public to remain calm and alert to comply with existing regulations,” Jokowi remarked here on Thursday while delivering a virtual press statement on the implementation of emergency restriction measures to curb the current spike in COVID-19 cases.

The head of state called on the public to remain disciplined in adhering to health protocols and support the work of government officials and volunteers to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

With sound cooperation from every individual and the will of Allah SWT, Indonesia can suppress the spread of COVID-19 and restore people’s lives quickly, the president stated.

The head of state conveyed that the decision to implement the Emergency PPKM was taken after receiving several inputs from ministers, health experts, and regional heads regarding the swift increase in COVID-19 cases owing to the new variant that had also turned out to be a grave problem in several countries. The Emergency PPKM will encompass stricter restrictions on community activities than before.

Jokowi sought details on the implementation of Emergency PPKM from Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan.

The country’s COVID-19 cases have hit a record high, with daily cases reaching 21,807 on June 30, 2021, thereby bringing the total tally to 2,178,272. Meanwhile, the death toll has climbed to 58,491.

As many as 13,329,738 Indonesians have received the full dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine under the national vaccination program as of June 29, 2021.

Since January 13, 2021, the government has been largely administering China’s Sinovac vaccine and few AstraZeneca vaccines obtained from the COVAX Facility.

The government is prioritizing healthcare workers under the program. Data has indicated that a total of 405 doctors had succumbed to COVID-19 as of June 27 this year.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Women who test positive for COVID-19 can still give breast milk to their babies, either directly or with the help of a pipette, FKUI community nutritionist Dr. Tan Shot Yen has said.

“The baby actually gets the benefit of being given breast milk from a mother who is infected with COVID-19. Why? Because the mother’s milk already contains antibodies,” Yen told ANTARA here on Thursday.

She argued that when a child is separated from a mother who is infected with COVID-19, there is no guarantee that the child will not be infected from someone else who takes care of him/her.

However, she advised mothers with severe COVID-19 symptoms to breastfeed their babies indirectly.

Indirect breastfeeding can be done by pumping milk and putting it into a sterile container, and using a pipette or a small spoon for feeding the baby, she explained.

The nutritionist advised mothers not to give breast milk using a pacifier, saying that could interfere with direct breastfeeding once they recover from COVID-19.

“If the baby is breastfed using a pacifier when the mother has to undergo self-isolation for two to three weeks, the baby will refuse to be breastfed directly when the mother has recovered, as the baby will be confused by the shape of the mother’s nipple,” Yen expounded.

Yen, who is also a member of the Maternal and Child Health Movement (GKIA), said that children do not need to be separated from parents undergoing self-isolation.

However, parents infected with COVID-19 must wear two-layer masks while undergoing self-isolation with other family members, she said.

“It is possible that these children will experience stress when they are separated from their parents. There is no guarantee that children will not catch COVID-19 when they are entrusted to someone else,” she said.

Therefore, children should not need to be separated from their parents. What needs to be emphasized is that parents who are infected with COVID-19 are required to wear masks so that the potential for spreading the virus to children is getting smaller, the nutritionist said.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government is targeting to expand COVID-19 testing to cover 324,283 people per day during the enforcement of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) in Java and Bali from July 3 – July 20, 2021.

According to the guidelines for the enforcement of emergency PPKM, issued here on Thursday, the government has also set daily COVID-19 testing targets for regions covered by the public activity restrictions.

The daily COVID-19 testing target has been set at 8,233 people for Bali province, 28,017 people for Banten province, 22,811 people for Jakarta province, 107,366 people for West Java province, 74,020 people for Central Java province, 7,412 people for Yogyakarta province, and 76,424 people for East Java province.

According to the guidelines, testing will have to be boosted until the positivity rate reaches below 10 percent.

During testing, people suspected of contracting the virus, those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or those coming in close contact with people testing positive for the virus within a 14-day window will be given priority, the guidelines said.

Contact tracing will cover 15 close contacts of each confirmed case, and quarantine will be conducted for people coming in close contact with COVID-19 patients, they added.

Tests will be carried out as soon as a person is identified as a close contact of a COVID-19 patient, the guidelines said. Such a person will have to undergo quarantine for five days and will be tested for COVID-19 on the fifth day. The quarantine will end if the test comes back negative, they added.

As per the guidelines, COVID-19 patients will be provided comprehensive treatment according to their symptoms. Only patients with medium, high, and critical symptoms will be hospitalized.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 patients conducting isolation will be strictly monitored to prevent widespread virus transmission.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin on Thursday thanked the governments of Japan, Australia, and the United States of America for providing vaccines and monetary assistance to support Indonesia’s fight against COVID-19.

Indonesia has received 2.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan, he told a virtual press conference that ANTARA joined from Jakarta on Thursday.

“The AstraZeneca vaccines are the grant and donation from the government of Japan. This is not the last. There will likely be another (vaccine consignment from Japan),” Sadikin said.

The Australian government has donated 77 million Australian dollars to help Indonesia procure at least 10 million vaccine doses through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, he informed.

The US government has also promised to provide Indonesia with four million Moderna vaccines thanks to the efforts of Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, he added.

Indonesia has 43 million vaccines in stock which would suffice for 30 million citizens, he informed, adding that the government has been striving to raise the country’s daily vaccination rate.

President Joko Widodo has set a target of boosting Indonesia’s daily vaccination rate to one million doses by July this year, Sadikin noted.

The targeted daily vaccination rate has been reached, with the government administering 1.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of June 26, 2021 alone with the help of the Indonesian military and police, local governments, and state and private enterprises, he added.

The COVID-19 pandemic initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and subsequently spread across the globe, including to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indonesian government announced the country’s first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

Since then, the central and regional governments have striven incessantly to flatten the nation’s coronavirus curve by applying healthcare protocols and public activity restrictions.

As part of the efforts to win the fight against COVID-19, the Indonesian government has also been conducting a nationwide vaccination program to contain infections since January 13, 2021.

As of June 20, 2021, Indonesia has received 104,728,400 COVID-19 vaccines, comprising 94.5 million Sinovac vaccines, 8.228 million AstraZeneca vaccines, and 2 million Sinopharm vaccines. (INE)

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has hinted that the government will likely delay opening Bali to foreign tourists following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

“When it comes to Bali, I think you can answer it yourself. It is impossible to reopen it (in the near future), given the (presence of the) Delta (variant of COVID-19 in the country),” he said at an online press conference on the implementation of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) in Jakarta on Thursday.

The Indonesian government is currently focusing on handling the COVID-19 pandemic, he said adding, it will implement emergency PPKM in Java and Bali from July 3 – July 20, 2021.

“So we are not thinking of it (reopening Bali) anymore. At this moment, we are thinking of how to lower (COVID-19 cases) by inoculating as many people as possible and (ensure people are) following the health protocols. That is what we are doing now,” the minister informed.

In addition to tightening activities, the government will also intensify 3T (testing, tracing and treatment) activities during the emergency PPKM, he said.

Contact tracing efforts will cover more than 15 people who have come in close contact with each confirmed COVID-19 patient, Pandjaitan said. Meanwhile, the treatment of COVID-19 patients will be conducted comprehensively, in accordance with the severity of symptoms, he said.

Only people who develop moderate, serious, and critical symptoms will be treated at hospitals, while isolation rooms will be tightened to prevent transmission, he added.

“The government will continue to increase the number of vaccinated people. The vaccination target, which is currently pegged at 70 percent of the population for priority cities and districts, will be achieved by August, 2021 at the latest,” the minister assured.

The government is hoping to control the spike in infections and reduce daily infections by up to 10 thousand through the implementation of the emergency PPKM, he added.

“We hope that over the period of time, we will be able to reduce (COVID-19 cases) by up to less than 10 thousand or close to 10 thousand,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News