Day: August 28, 2021

The South Aceh district government has called on the police to investigate the shocking deaths of three Sumatran tigers (Pantera Tigris Sumatrae) in Ie Buboh Village, Meukek Sub-district, this week.

South Aceh District Head Tgk Amran condemned the deaths of these critically endangered animals that are native to the island of Sumatra and urged the local police to investigate the case.

The Sumatran tigers, including two 10-month cubs, were found dead after being caught in wild boar traps that a poacher had set inside a conservation area on August 26, 2021.

The poacher, who is suspectedly responsible for the deaths of 10-year-old female tiger and her two cubs, might come from outside South Aceh, he stated in Tapaktuan, the capital of South Aceh District, on Friday.

Amran claimed that local residents, who rely on forests for feeding their families, do not set any trap that may harm endangered wild animals.

All endangered wild animals, including Sumatran tigers, must be protected and preserved, as they are the wealth of the nation’s natural resources that can be passed down across generations, he stated.

“South Aceh residents have coexisted with tigers for so long. During an armed conflict in the past, the tracks of tigers had become a helpful guide when I got lost in thick forests,” he noted.

During the armed conflict between the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the past, Tgk Amran was a former commanding officer of GAM in the Lhok Tapaktuan region.

Sumatran tigers, the smallest of all tigers, are currently a critically endangered species only found on Sumatra Island, Indonesia’s second-largest island.

The tigers are on the brink of extinction owing to deforestation, poaching, and conflicts between wild animals and local people owing to their dwindling habitats.

The exact figure of Sumatran tigers left in the wild is ambiguous, though the latest estimates range, from under 300 to possibly 500 at 27 locations, including at the Kerinci Seblat National Park, Tesso Nilo Park, and Gunung Leuser National Park.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), their numbers have decreased, from about one thousand in the 1970s.

The 2009 report by the forestry ministry points to conflict with humans being the biggest threat to conservation. The report cited that on average, five to 10 Sumatran tigers had been killed yearly since 1998.

Source: ANTARA News

The government has allocated a budget of Rp47 trillion for COVID-19 vaccine imports this year, with Rp58 trillion allotted for the vaccination program in Indonesia, Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara stated.

“Our constraint is the supply of vaccines, as we have not produced our own. This year, we will import around Rp47 trillion, with the entire implementation of the vaccination program costing around Rp58 trillion,” Nazara remarked during an online discussion on Saturday.

Nazara emphasized that vaccination was an important key to help Indonesia emerge out of the health crisis. To this end, the vaccination program will continue to be boosted both for Java and Bali as well as outside the two regions.

Based on the covid19.go.id page, some 92.77 million COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered to Indonesians as of August 27, comprising 59.42 million doses of the first vaccine and 33.35 million doses of the second vaccine.

Nazara ensured that the government will continue to accelerate the vaccination program, as the target has been set to vaccinate at least 220 million people out of the total 270 million Indonesians.

“In total, 93 million vaccine injections are available, but our population is 270 million and our target is 220 million. Hence, we have to secure 440 million doses of the vaccine,” he explained.

Increasing the realization of the vaccination program is one of the short- and medium-term agendas in future. Nazara is optimistic that various related stakeholders would also participate to expedite vaccination in Indonesia, starting from the Ministry of Health to health workers and the TNI and Polri.

“Those running health services across the country should take a cue from the vaccination in Java. We are now starting to consider if midwives can also help to vaccinate. We keep thinking about who else can help with the vaccination,” he stated.

Source: ANTARA News

The Bali COVID-19 Task Force recorded that 3,292 people, or 41.2 percent of COVID-19 positive patients in the local area were being treated in centralized isolation areas spread across nine districts and cities.

“To date, the total number of active COVID-19 cases in Bali Province reaches 7,991,” Secretary of the Bali COVID-19 Task Force Made Rentin noted in Denpasar on Friday.

Of the 7,991 people, some 2,262 individuals, or 28.30 percent, underwent treatment at a referral hospital; 3,292 individuals, or 41.2 percent, received treatment in centralized isolation; and 2,437 people, or 30.50 percent, underwent self-isolation.

Furthermore, Rentin noted that Bali currently had 372 centralized isolation places, with a capacity of up to 6,780 beds.

“So far, 3,292 beds are occupied, or 48.55 percent of the available capacity, while 3,488 beds, or 51.45 percent, remain (empty),” he informed.

As of Friday (Aug 27), Bali Province had recorded 588 additional cases, thereby bringing the count of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 105,377.

Some 685 COVID-19 patients had made a recovery, while 45 patients succumbed to COVID-19 in Bali Province.

A total of 94,020 individuals, or 89.22 percent, of COVID-19 patients had recovered. On the other hand, the death tally stood at 3,366, or 3.91 percent.

The death rate in Bali remains high, despite a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases that averages below one thousand per day.

According to the Health Ministry’s data, this Friday, Bali stood third with most lives lost to COVID-19, after East Java Province with 161 deaths, and Central Java being the second-highest, with 47 people succumbing to the disease.

Ever since the pandemic hit last year, scores have fallen to the deadly virus. The central government has continued to impose several programs, such as community activities restriction and mass vaccinations, as well as offer social aid to those affected and infected by COVID-19 in order to lower the severe health and socio-economic impacts.

Source: ANTARA News

Government spokesperson for COVID-19 Handling, Reisa Broto Asmoro, addressed several hoaxes concerning vaccinations and COVID-19 during a talk show on Friday night.

One false information being spread among the public is that chips are being injected along with COVID-19 vaccines, Asmoro noted.

“So this is a hoax that has developed a lot because people don’t understand what the actual contents of the vaccine are. Actually, the contents of the vaccine, whether it is American-made vaccine, Europe, China, all have the same international standards,” she explained.

Vaccines only contain viral components and ingredients that make vaccines last longer in the body, she said. “So there is no chip or whatsoever,” she assured.

Another misinformation is that the coronavirus can be warded off by smoking, she said. This is not true, she stressed.

Smoking actually worsens health, especially if one is infected with COVID-19, she added.

Smoking can also aid COVID-19 transmission via droplets, especially in rooms without good air circulation, which can allow the virus to remain in the air and potentially be inhaled by others, she said.

Asmoro also debunked the false information that children are immune to COVID-19, saying the national death rate among children due to COVID-19 is actually quite high.

“So don’t get me wrong. It does not mean that these children are immune, and we have to be sad instead because in Indonesia, the child mortality rate due to COVID-19 is very high compared to other countries. So, we have to take care of children extra carefully, teach them the 3M health protocols,” she said.

She also dismissed the notion that health protocols need not be followed post vaccination, saying this kind of thinking is misguided since vaccinations do not make people 100-percent immune to the virus.

Vaccinations are part of the effort to shield people from COVID-19 transmission, she said. Adherence to the health protocols is also necessary for cubing infections, she added.

“One day, for example, if everyone has been vaccinated, we already have herd immunity, then we can expect to loosen this health protocol,” Asmoro remarked.

She also cautioned people against believing the misinformation that COVID-19 can be cured by drinking eucalyptus oil. Consuming eucalyptus oil can actually harm the body and potentially cause new diseases, she said.

It is also a hoax that the immunity of people who have been infected with COVID-19 is better than those who have been vaccinated, she said. The immunity developed by people infected with COVID-19 is different, she explained.

“Some are mild in form, some are optimally formed. So what is better is protection through vaccines, because vaccines can provide protection that has already been measured, in accordance to recommendations, so it is optimal,” Asmoro stressed.

“Moreover, if the symptoms are mild, usually the antibodies are not as optimal as expected and usually don’t last as long as the ones (who have their immune system boosted) from the vaccine,” she added.

Source: ANTARA News

– Government Spokesperson for COVID-19 Handling Reisa Broto Asmoro has recommended a five-day quarantine for people coming in close contact with COVID-19 patients.

“This quarantine needs to be done for at least five days. For example, yesterday (you had close contact), don’t be in a rush to get tested. Get quarantined first,” she advised during a virtual talk on Friday (Aug 27) night.

After the fifth day, people must get tested to see if they have been infected or not, she said.

“If the result comes out negative, repeat it again in three days,” Asmoro said.

Quarantine is advisable for people who have come in close contact with COVID-19 patients but have yet to be confirmed positive, she stated. If they test positive after the quarantine period, they must undertake isolation.

To determine the type of isolation, they would need to consult a doctor, Asmoro said.

“So that the doctor determines whether you can self-isolate at home or must be isolated in the center by the government, or must be in a hospital,” she elaborated.

Consulting a doctor is important because many people with COVID-19 decide to self-isolate if they feel alright, despite the possibility that the disease could get progressively worse, she said.

“The course of the disease is not necessarily the same a few days later as it is now. So after that, it must be followed with a more intensive treatment. So if it is positive (diagnosis), the person must also be treated and the (close people) must be traced to get the right treatment,” she added.

Source: ANTARA News

Bangka, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA) – Bangka Belitung Islands Governor Erzaldi Rosman Djohan constantly pushes the agenda to disseminate information on health protocols in remote villages and islands to increase public understanding to prevent transmission of the new type of coronavirus.

“We have to take care of our health. COVID-19 is dangerous, especially if we have a history of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, asthma, high blood pressure, or lungs (disease). This can endanger our lives,” Djohan stated during a working visit to Saing Village, Bangka, Saturday.

The governor admitted that during every working visit to remote villages and islands, he primarily focused on edifying the public to provide an understanding of prevention methods and stemming the transmission of COVID-19.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you have to wear masks and take care of your health. God willing, we will conduct the vaccination soon. Do not miss out on getting vaccinated. Masks are also used when you leave the house,” he emphasized.

He stressed that people could protect themselves from the disease by following health protocols and getting COVID-19 vaccine. It has become increasingly important now that the dangerously contagious delta variant of the virus was found in Bangka Belitung.

“This delta variant of COVID-19 is a new and more dangerous strain, necessitating the public as a whole to be more vigilant and not to underestimate the current condition,” he affirmed.

In addition to complying with the health protocols, the governor also urged the Saing Village residents to maintain their health and immune system to avoid contracting the virus.

“It is true that our deaths lie in God’s hands, but do not (let that fact) make us arrogant. We still have to take care of ourselves by wearing masks, washing our hands more often, and wearing masks (as well) when we leave our homes. Once we arrived back at home, take a shower, wash our hands, and then (you may) interact with family,” he stressed.

Source: ANTARA News