Day: December 9, 2021

Complete vaccination will be made a pre-condition for undertaking travel during the Christmas and New Year holidays as part of efforts to reduce virus transmission, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force has said.

“In the near future, the government will enforce a mandatory policy of full-dose vaccination for inter-district or inter-city travelers in the agglomeration area (and outside) during the Christmas and New Year period,” the task force’s spokesperson, Wiku Adisasmito, informed here on Thursday.

The central government has given local governments the discretion to adjust the rules based on their situation, especially regions outside Java-Bali where the vaccination rate is still below the national average, he said.

“For this reason, all people who have not been fully vaccinated can immediately visit the nearest vaccination service post, including those at some airports and ports,” he added.

Indonesia has never managed to get through a long holiday period without a spike in COVID-19 cases, therefore, the readiness for the Christmas and New Year period is important, he observed.

Even though the pandemic situation at the national level is still under control, he highlighted that there are six provinces that have experienced a significant rise in cases.

The six provinces are Lampung, which has reported 18 daily cases in four days; Bangka Belitung, where daily cases have increased from 8 to 15 in two days; Jakarta, where cases have jumped from 41 to 70 cases in two days; West Java, which has reported an increase in cases from 29 to 83 in three days; East Nusa Tenggara, where cases have risen from 3 to 27 in three days; and West Papua, which has seen cases rise from 4 to 13 in five days, he informed.

In addition, the effective reproduction number (Rt) that shows the potential for transmission in a population has also begun to show an increase in some provinces, Adisasmito said.

“The rise of Rt is an early warning in determining control measures,” he explained.

Until now, there are two islands where the Rt has increased: Java Island and Sulawesi Island. They have recorded an increase in the Rt from 0.95 on November 11, 2021, to 0.98 on December 2, 2021, he noted.

“It is unfortunate that this increase in Rt in some regions was not accompanied by the compliance of health protocols,” he added.

According to Adisasmito, discipline in following the health protocols is important for preventing COVID-19 transmission.

Source: Antara News

An accurate exit strategy can help address the scarring effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has observed.

“An accurate exit strategy and efforts to handle the scarring effect are a prerequisite to sustainable recovery,” she said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday.

An accurate exit strategy must be created as the high level of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and uneven recovery between developed countries and developing nations has cast a shadow over the world, she elaborated.

In addition, strong global economic performance, particularly in developed countries, coupled with high inflationary pressure has also pushed for a change in tighter policies or tapering, she said.

Hence, the exit strategy will be discussed at a meeting during Indonesia’s G20 Presidency next year. The meeting will focus on three issues—inclusive health, digital transformation, and energy transition, she said.

During its G20 Presidency, Indonesia will strive to create equitable vaccination access, accelerate digitalization, and direct the coordination of global policies related to climate change financing, she said.

Indonesia’s G20 Presidency will offer a chance to the country to showcase its role in leading a global forum to address global challenges.

Indonesia is determined to address the global challenge by looking for the best solution, ensuring that all countries recover together, and pushing for policy reforms in favor of stronger, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive economic growth, the minister said.

This aligns with the theme of Indonesia’s G20 Presidency of ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’ by focusing on six priority agendas, which are on the finance track, including coordinating an exit strategy for supporting global recovery.

Next, is the effort to handle the scarring effects on the economy to support stronger growth in the future and strengthen the financing system in the digital era, she said.

The last is to develop sustainable finance, increase inclusive financial system, and conceive an international taxation agenda, she added.

Source: Antara News

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has distributed aid packages worth Rp31.7 billion in total for COVID-19 handling to one thousand Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) and 269 madrasahs.

The director-general of Islamic education at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, M. Ali Ramdhani, said the pesantren and madrasahs need to be resilient in facing the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This aid program also aims to garner the community’s support and participation to jointly strengthen Islamic educational institutions such as pesantren and madrasahs so that they always implement the health protocols and make maximal efforts in dealing with COVID-19,” he added in a written statement received here on Thursday.

People’s interest in Islamic education, especially pesantren, is currently high, he observed. As an institution that is tasked to support, the ministry also feels responsible for helping Islamic boarding schools and madrasahs so that teaching and learning activities can run safely and healthily, he said.

“Currently, face-to-face learning has been running. We hope pesantren and madrasahs can remain alert. Always strictly implement health protocols to push the potential threat of COVID-19 transmission,” Ramdhani said.

The COVID-19 Handling Aid for Islamic Boarding Schools and Madrasahs for the 2021 Fiscal Year Program has been realized in the form of masks, hand sanitizers, infrared thermometers, and vitamins to bolster immunity, he informed.

The aid packages will be distributed directly to the boarding schools and madrasahs, he said.

He expressed the hope that school managers would make maximum use of the aid to stem virus transmission, especially amid the threat presented by the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Therefore, mitigation steps should be taken as early as possible to prevent the third wave from happening.

He also appealed to people who have not been vaccinated yet to get the COVID-19 jab promptly.

Source: Antara News

• Widespread floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain have affected several parts of Indonesia since 5 December, resulting in casualties and damage as reported by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre).

• In West Nusa Tenggara Province, five people have died, one is missing and eight people have been injured. At least 6,500 people have been displaced, 66,800 affected and 8,600 houses damaged across the Province, following flood and landslide events.

• In South Sulawesi Province, more than 4,800 people have been displaced, over 31,000 affected and 1,600 houses damaged due to floods.

• In Bangka Belitung Islands Province, 5,130 people have been affected by floods as well as more than 1,000 houses. Furthermore, 2,000 people have been affected, and 400 houses damaged in East Java Province. For the next 24 hours, light rain with localized thunderstorms is forecast over the aforementioned Provinces.

Source: European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

The Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), has withdrawn its participation from the BWF Championship 2021, for fear of the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, an official said yesterday.

The badminton tournament is scheduled to take place in Huelva, Spain, from Dec12-19.

PBSI’s Executive Chairman, Alex Tirta, said in a press release that, the decision not to send any players to the event was directly made by PBSI’s General Chairman, Agung Firman Sampurna, after a long discussion with all coaches and PBSI’s Development and Achievement Head, Rionny Mainaky.

“The main reason of the withdrawal is because the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant is still uncertain, while the safety and health of our players should come first,” Tirta said.

Previously, PBSI planned to send 13 top-ranked badminton players, including Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Jonatan Christie, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, to the BWF Championship 2021.

“We do not want to take any risk. We have also discussed this decision with all players and they have agreed not to participate,” he added.

Alex also said that the decision was in line with the government’s instruction, to restrict international travel as an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.

As of Tuesday, Indonesia confirmed 261 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 4,258,076, according to data from the country’s Health Ministry.

The death toll from the virus rose by 17 to 143,893, while 420 more people recovered during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,108,717.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK