Day: January 16, 2022

The Health Ministry recorded 748 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in Indonesia until January 15, 2022.

“As of January 15, 2022, there have been 748 confirmed positive cases of Omicron reported. Of which, 569 were people who had a history of international travel and 155 people with local transmission,” Director of Prevention and Control of Vector and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi said in an online symposium on combating COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday.

The ministry is still conducting an epidemiological investigation for 24 other positive cases.

“If we look at probable cases of Omicron, there are currently approximately 1,800 cases,” Tarmizi said.

She said the international travelers were mostly come from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Unites States, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.

To tackle the spread of the Omicron variant, the government continues to make various efforts such as mobility restrictions and regulation on the duration of the quarantine period for international travelers.

Currently, confirmed Omicron patients must undergo isolation at the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital, Jakarta, and at the referral hospital.

If the number of Omicron cases continue to rise, she noted, it is possible that patients who have confirmed positive for COVID-19 to carry out self-isolation at home under the supervision of public health centers (Puskesmas) and local health service facilities.

Patients in self-isolation will be offered telemedicine services, she said.

The government has urged the public to carry out health protocols strictly. Local administrations should strengthen testing and intensify contact tracing in an effort to localize potential COVID-19 clusters.

Whole genom sequencing and the use of PeduliLindungi application must be continued as part of efforts to carry out contact tracing and to quickly locate Omicron cases, she said.

The number of COVID-19 patients being treated at the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital, Jakarta, rose by 95 to reach 2,475 on Saturday, an official earlier said.

“The number of inpatients, who are positive (or contracted COVID-19) at towers 5 and 6 reaches 2,475. Meanwhile, the last figure (on Friday) reaches 2,380. There are an additional 95 inpatients,” head of information for Joint Regional Defense Command I, Marine Colonel Aris Mudian, stated while conveying the updated situation of the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital here on Saturday.

Mudian also noted that from March 23, 2020, to January 15, 2022, the total number of patients referred to the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital had reached 133,629.

Of the total figure, 129,487 patients had recovered, while 1,071 patients were referred to other hospitals, he remarked.

Meanwhile, as of January 15, 2022, the number of patients having succumbed to the virus at the hospital reached 596, he stated.

On the occasion, he also provided an update on the situation at Galang Island’s Special Hospital for Infection (RSKI), Batam, Riau Islands.

According to Mudian, the number of COVID-19 inpatients in the hospital reached 247, comprising 162 men and 85 women, as of Saturday.

The figure has increased by one patient as compared to the previous day when 246 patients were recorded.

Source: Antara News

An epidemiologist from Sriwijaya University urged authorities in Indonesia to ensure that all children aged 6 to 11 must get vaccinated before allowing them to join a physical return to school at full capacity.

“Getting vaccinated must be a requirement for the implementation of the face-to-face learning session, because children belong to a vulnerable group exposed to COVID-19,” Iche Andriany Liberty said in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Sunday.

She said that the full vaccination rate was needed because elementary school-aged children often neglect health protocols.

“They are kids. They are different from adults who (can) take care of themselves,” she said.

Children are prone to get infected, especially those who have comorbidities. Thus everyone, particularly parents, must make sure that every child is vaccinated.

Parents do not need to doubt the safety of the vaccines given because they have thoroughly been studied and tested by experts.

As an epidemiologist, she suggested the government to expand the targets of vaccination, to include children below 6 years old, or those in playgroups and kindergartens.

As long as the children have yet to get vaccinated,they cannot yet attend the full-capacity offline learning activities at their playgroups and kindergartens as it is a key to handling COVID-19, she argued.

Vaccines are believed to be a method to reduce the risk of illness and death in the event of infection by coronavirus. The public must understand that the COVID-19 continues to prey upon people, at it cannot yet be predicted when will it end.

The virus continues to create new mutations as shown by the emergence of Omicron variant.

Therefore, everyone must work together to create herd immunity, while complying with health protocols and expediting vaccination rate, she compelled.

Meanwhile, regarding the vaccination coverage for children aged 6-17 in South Sumatra, the authorities revealed that as of January 15, 2022, it had reached 24.91 percent of the total target of 899,622 people.

Overall, the province’s vaccination coverage had reached 81.99 percent of the total target of 5,167,817 people.

Source: Antara News

Indonesia has received more COVID-19 vaccine doses from Japan under dose-sharing cooperation scheme.

East Asia Director at Foreign Affairs Ministry Santo Darmosumarto said in a press release received here on Sunday that the current vaccine assistance deliveries were divided into four batches.

The first and second batches arrived on Saturday (January 15, 2022) afternoon and night with 448,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine each.

Both batches were the 194th and 195th vaccine arrivals in Indonesia.

The next batches will arrive on January 18 and 19, 2022, taking the total to 2,722,930 doses.

Japan had earlier sent 4.15 million doses of vaccine to Indonesia throughout 2021.

“With this arrival, the total of COVID-19 vaccine doses under dose-sharing cooperation collectively reached 6,875,080,” Darmosumarto informed.

Such a concrete cooperation mirrors the strategic partnership between the two countries, especially in assisting to expedite economic recovery in Indonesia, he remarked.

Japan is one of Indonesia’s important partners in trade, investment, infrastructure, and economic sectors, he added.

“I highly appreciate the Japanese government and citizens for this cooperation,” he said.

The vaccine diplomacy was aimed at securing the vaccine needs for Indonesian citizens, he stressed.

Apart from voicing equal access to vaccine for each country, Indonesia remains in the front line in strengthening the global health cooperation in order that the world can be more prepared for meeting challenges related to public health in the near future, he explained.

The vaccine supply is very important as the government has commenced the inoculation of booster doses for public, according to Darmosumarto.

The government also continues to increase the vaccination coverage for first and second doses across regions, particularly those with relatively-low vaccination rates.

Meanwhile, the people at large are urged to keep complying with the government’s health protocols.

Source: Antara News

The Badung district government in Bali Province encourages local artists, especially young ones, to stay creative even though they are currently in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Despite the pandemic, young Badung artists have shown great creative works through the performance of the Creative and Independent Gema Raga Muda at the Giri Nata Mandala Cultural Center, Badung Regional Secretary I Wayan Adi Arnawa said here Sunday.

He lauded the young artists for the initiative, and the district government along with the Badung Bali Culture Advisory and Coaching (Listibiya) Office would continue to encourage the young artists to bring up new creative works of music and dance.

“We appreciate this activity. It is extraordinary. Later, we will support it by not only providing a place, but, in the future, a stimulus through the Badung regional budget as well,” he said.

Chairman of the staging committee, I Wayan Muliyadi, revealed that he and other artists were grateful to the Badung administration for its full support for the young artists and their work. One tangible facility they received was a strategic stage for the event.

The Gema Raga was a place for artists, especially young artists, to show off their creativity, he said.

He explained that this art activity also has a high academic value, in which artists are not only required to show their works. Instead, they are demanded to account for their works through a question and answer session with those directly attending and those joining it on social media.

“This activity is purely an independent one for young Badung artists. The funding we get is the result of our hard work and loyalty. Through this Gema Raga, we show that young artists in Badung are loyal to art and to Badung,” Muliyadi said.

Source: Antara News

A strong earthquake that jolted Sumur Sub-district in Pandeglang District, Banten Province, on Friday has damaged 1,909 houses, Head of the Pandeglang Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Girgi Jantoro said.

The number of the damaged houses increased from 1,904 as the agency’s personnel continue the data collection and verification on the residents’ houses, damaged by the 6.6-magnitude earthquake, he said here Sunday.

The data collection must be precise, accurate, and valid to enable authorities to determine the affected residents who are eligible to receive the assistance, Jantoro said.

The Pandeglang district government, Banten provincial government, and National Disaster Mitigation Agency would help the affected residents repair or rebuild their damaged houses.

To this end, local authorities and volunteers continue collecting data on damaged houses in the aftermath of the strong earthquake, he said.

As of midday on Sunday, the quake had resulted in heavy damage to 337 houses, moderate damage to 424 houses, and light damage to 1,148 houses, according to the BPBD-Pandeglang Office.

The earthquake whose tremors could also be felt by those in Jakarta, Bogor, Lampung, and Bandung had also damaged 36 school buildings, 14 health facilities, 10 mosques, and three village offices.

“We believe that data on damaged houses will certainly increase as not all have been reported,” he said.

Jantoro said his agency has yet to receive reports of casualties, but several residents were injured as a result of debris of damaged buildings.

As part of the disaster risk management, locals are suggested to stay vigilant, he said, adding that his agency continues to prioritize the availability of basic needs for the earthquake victims.

Source: Antara News

The Religious Affairs Ministry has suspended the departures of umrah pilgrims starting from January 15, to give authorities time to evaluate the One Gate Policy (OGP) scheme, and to monitor the Omicron variant transmission in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

“We are evaluating the OGP concept thoroughly by considering the current development as the Omicron variant continues to spread in many countries, including Indonesia and Saudi Arabia,” the ministry’s Director General of Hajj and Umrah Hilman said in a statement here on Sunday.

The government has started to embark the umrah pilgrims on January 8, 2022. As many as 1,731 pilgrims had departed since then, through Pondok Gede hajj dormitory in Jakarta.

Under the OGP scheme, all umrah pilgrims arrived at Pondok Gede hajj dormitory are required to pass health screening and document checking.

The umrah pilgrims who had departed on January 8 are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on January 17, and the ministry would check possible transmission of Omicron among the pilgrims.

“The departures of the umrah pilgrims have continued until January 15 and we shall stop them temporarily for evaluation,” he remarked.

According to Hilman, an umrah pilgrimage is similar to other international travels.Travel agents play dominant role in organizing the pilgrimage while the ministry only facilitates preparation for pilgrims’ departures.

They are unlike the hajj pilgrimage where the government takes part in controlling the procedures and hajj pilgrimage process.

Hilman said the ministry would decide whether it would continue or halt the umrah pilgrimage after completing the evaluation, conducted in coordination with related ministries.

“We only encourage the PPIU (umrah travel agent) not to dispatch a large group of pilgrims. We shall soon announce the result of the evaluation. The open-and-close mechanism is applied on account of the development of Omicron cases both in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia,” Hilman said.

The Religious Affairs Ministry embarked 419 people to perform Umrah on January 8, marking Indonesia’s foremost Umrah departure after two years since the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

The initial plan for the Umrah departure had been set for December 2021. However, the ministry postponed the plan due to the COVID-19 situation in the country at the end of 2021.

Preparations for the Umrah departure were made through collaboration among the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, COVID-19 Task Force, Airport Authority, and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

Source: Antara News