Day: January 2, 2022

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has lauded Ragunan Zoo, South Jakarta, for setting an “excellent” example on implementing the COVID-19 health protocols.

“We laud the strict implementation of health protocols here (at Ragunan Zoo),” he said at the zoo, here, on Saturday.

Uno praised the zoo authorities and said visitors seemed to be complying with the mask-wearing rule until the end of operating hours.

He noted that visitors were also keeping their distance even though they were visiting the zoo with their families.

The number of visitors at Ragunan Zoo on the first day of 2022 stood at 18 thousand, he disclosed.

According to the minister, as many as 30 thousand visitors have registered online for visiting the zoo on Sunday.

“It means that what Ragunan Zoo has achieved is something we should be grateful for,” he remarked.

He also highlighted that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) around the area have started to revive again after being hit by the pandemic. In this case, various creative economy actors, such as those producing ondel-ondel dolls, have begun to go back to work again, Uno noted.

The minister then invited all parties to work together to innovate with contemporary approaches to create a people’s economic breakthrough that can touch all aspects of society.

“Let us work hand in hand together with new innovations. With contemporary approaches, we present a people’s economic breakthrough that can touch people’s lives,” he remarked.

Uno also expressed the hope that besides making people happy, tourism would have an impact on conservation, like at Ragunan Zoo.

Source: Antara News

Indonesia received nearly one million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine from the Italian government on Saturday, director general of information and public communication at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Usman Kansong, said.

“We have received the first COVID-19 vaccine stock arrival in 2022 today, on January 1, 2022. The vaccines that arrived are 999,180 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as a form of support from the Italian government,” he informed in a statement issued on Saturday.

The vaccines were obtained under the COVAX scheme, he said. With the arrival of the latest batch, the total number of vaccine doses that Indonesia has received, both in the form of finished products and raw materials, so far has reached around 470 million, Kansong said.

The vaccine arrivals in Indonesia have reflected the government’s commitment to securing COVID-19 vaccine availability in the country, he added.

He also called for active participation from the community in the vaccination program.

“Vaccination and health protocols are health protection measures that cannot be abandoned at this time, including in anticipation of the Omicron variant whose cases continue to grow,” Kansong said.

“The Ministry of Health has conveyed that this (Omicron) variant is more transmissible yet has a lower risk of causing severe symptoms. However, we need to remain alert because the COVID-19 situation is still very dynamic and changing quickly,” he explained.

He then appealed to the community to perform activities outside wisely and avoid traveling abroad.

The Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, in a bid to boost immunity against COVID-19.

According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of January 1, 2021, nearly 161,901,957 citizens have received their first COVID-19 jab, while 114,041,953 have been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Source: Antara News

At least 114,039,438 people received the complete dose of the COVID-19 vaccination as of Saturday afternoon, an increase of 364,111 compared to the previous day, according to the COVID-19 Task Force. Thus, the number of recipients of the second dose reached 54.76 percent of the target of 208,265,720 million, it said.

Meanwhile, the number of first dose recipients increased by 778,365 to reach 161,861,222, it added.

So far, the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 77.74 percent of the total target, the task force said.

Furthermore, the number of recipients of the third doses has reached 1,288,890, it added.

According to spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccinations at the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, Indonesia achieved 280 million vaccinations as of 7:30 p.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time on December 31, 2021.

“We highly laud our colleagues in the field for the achievement,” she remarked.

Furthermore, 470 million vaccine doses have arrived in the country both in bulk or finished form so far, she noted.

On January 1, 2022, Indonesia received an additional 999,180 doses from the Italian government.

Meanwhile, Indonesia received nearly one million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine from the Italian government on Saturday, director general of information and public communication at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Usman Kansong, said.

“We have received the first COVID-19 vaccine stock arrival in 2022 today, on January 1, 2022. The vaccines that arrived are 999,180 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as a form of support from the Italian government,” he informed in a statement issued on Saturday.

The vaccines were obtained under the COVAX scheme, he said. With the arrival of the latest batch, the total number of vaccine doses that Indonesia has received, both in the form of finished products and raw materials, so far has reached around 470 million, Kansong said.

The vaccine arrivals in Indonesia have reflected the government’s commitment to securing COVID-19 vaccine availability in the country, he added.

Source: Antara News

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi inspected the Kali Adem Port, Muara Angke, North Jakarta, on Sunday morning to ensure that the health protocols were appropriately complied with during the 2022 New Year holidays.

“On New Year, some people go on vacation to the Seribu Islands. Kali Adem is the busiest port (connecting) Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi) to the Seribu Islands. So, we let them go there, but they must (comply) with the health protocols. I saw that it was going well,” Sumadi explained here.

Sumadi said, queue at passenger ticket checks at the dock was going well. Passengers were required to scan the available barcode before entering the ship with the PeduliLindungi app.

“Then, we wear a safety jacket, as safety is the priority. We have checked the number of people who are onboard is 75 percent of the capacity, and they must wear a life jacket,” he added.

Despite conducting strict supervision to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, especially the Omicron variant, the minister asked the port authority, ship managers, and security forces to serve passengers nicely.

“I am happy to see the prepared facilities such as for antigen test and vaccinations,” Sumadi said.

Furthermore, the minister said he did not rule out the possibility of ship managers seeking to reap as much profit as possible during the Christmas and New Year holidays by transporting passengers in excess of the capacity. According to him, this is very dangerous and can threaten the lives of passengers.

“That is one of the problems. Therefore, the director general has been here to guarantee that the ship’s capacity is appropriate. Secondly, whether the condition of the ship is still good for use,” he pointed out.

He added, the ship condition has to be checked regularly, such as the ramp check, so the ship can sail decently.

When reviewing Kali Adem Port, Sumadi also borrowed the guitar of one of the passengers then played it and invited all ship passengers to sing the song “Kolam Susu” by Koes Plus.

Source: Antara News

The National Commission (Komnas) for KIPI (adverse event following immunization – AEFI) has said there has been no death caused by COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia so far.

“As of November 30, 202, as many as 363 serious AEFIs have been reported in all provinces in Indonesia. However, there have been no deaths,” Komnas KIPI Chairman Prof Hindra Irawan Satari said in a statement here on Saturday.

He issued the statement in response to news that two children had died after receiving COVID-19 vaccine in Jombang and Bone Districts respectively.

On behalf of the government, Safari expressed deep condolences for the deaths. The government hoped that such incidents would not happen again in the future, he added.

As a credible and independent institution, Komnas KIPI was tasked with conducting causal studies. Accurate, complete and fast reports can help to establish a diagnosis, according to him.

He said that he had carried out a joint audit with the local offices of Komnas KIPI and the local Health Offices on December 30, 2021. After being investigated, the results showed that both deaths were not related to the COVID-19 vaccination.

“The death case in Jombang District was concluded to be unclassifiable or having insufficient data. Meanwhile, the death in Bone District was because of congenital heart disease,” he said.

Spokesperson for Vaccination of the Ministry of Health Siti Nadia Tarmizi said that anticipating the occurrence of AEFI is one of the government’s focuses.

Hence, Komnas KIPI would always cooperate with the local KIPI offices to continue to monitor and provide education to the public, he said.

“For vaccination recipients who feel post-vaccination side effects, they can come directly to the health service facility where the vaccination was carried out to report. No conditions are needed,” he said.

Source: Antara News

Fish kill incidents in Lake Maninjau that has occurred since early December 2021, have left putrid smell for residents in Bayua Village, Tanjung Raya Sub-district, Agam District, West Sumatra Province.

Some 200 tons of fish were found dead in Bayua area and 50 tons in Lake Maninjau on Dec 30, 2021, Head of the Agam Fisheries and Food Resilience Office Rosva Deswira said on Sunday.

Throughout December 2021, a total of 1,705 tons of dead fish were found in Lake Maninjau area, Deswira added.

The fish kill incidents in the lake area were triggered by extreme weather condition, the official noted.

The rotten fish carcasses left putrid smell for residents, he remarked.

“Fish carcasses are not removed by farmers, so it causes air pollution,” he said.

Rizki, 38, a traveler, said he could smell unpleasant odor of dead fish while he entered Bayua Village to visit Lake Maninjau.

“The air in the area smells bad all the way, so I feel nauseous,” he said here on Sunday.

Besides, dead fish floating in Lake Maninjau waters ruined the view of the lake, he said.

Desrona, 23, another visitor to Lake Maninjau, urged the local authorities to deal with the fish kill as the incident could reduce the number of visitors to the lake.

“Based on my observation, there are no visitors stopping in Maninjau nor Bayua due to the fish kills,” he said.

Source: Antara News

The number of traffic accidents during Operasi Lilin (Candle Operation) 2021 rose 31 percent to 772 from 529 in the same period last year, police said.

“The number of traffic accidents increased compared to Operasi Lilin 2020,” Chief of Public Information Section of the Public Relations Division at the National Police Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan said in a written statement released on Sunday.

Operasi Lilin 2021 lasted from December 24, 2021 to January 2, 2022. The police recorded a total of 772 traffic accidents until the ninth day of the operation compared to 529 during Operasi Lilin 2020.

However, the number of fatalities declined 19 percent to 74 from 88r.

“The number of serious injuries both in Operasi Lilin 2021 and Operasi Lilin 2020 is the same at 74,” he said.

Meanwhile, the number of light injuries fell 10 percent to 990 from 1,091.

The police also ticketed 8,930 motorists for various traffic violations during Operasi Lilin 2021, up 58 percent compared to 3,768 the year before.

During Operasi Lilin 2021 the police also reprimanded 68,572 motorists for violating traffic regulations compared to 20,395 a year earlier.

The number of security and public order disturbances increased 18 percent.

Source: Antara News