Day: February 18, 2022

Indonesia has consistently succeeded in delaying COVID-19 importation longer than other countries due to strict quarantine policies and test requirements for international travelers, COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito has said.

“Throughout the two years of the pandemic, Indonesia has always experienced a spike in cases after the number of global cases has started to decline,” he remarked at a virtual press conference here on Thursday.

Currently, the number of global cases has declined by around 60 percent compared to during the fourth global wave of COVID-19 – which occurred around November to December 2021, he noted.

Meanwhile, Indonesia only experienced a surge in cases from the middle of January 2022, he pointed out.

In contrast, most European countries as well as the United States, Canada, and Australia, are experiencing a consistent decline in cases, with only Denmark continuing to report a significant increase in infections, Adisasmito said.

Denmark’s death toll has been equal to the mortality recorded at the peak of the previous COVID-19 wave, he noted.

Meanwhile, in the United States, mortality has been 20 percent higher compared to the peak of the previous COVID-19 wave, he said.

In Asia, Japan and the Philippines are among the countries where cases have declined, he added.

The number of cases in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Indonesia is still rising, he said.

The increase in the number of hospitalized patients and the death toll depends on public awareness in implementing health protocols because only countries where people are disciplined in conducting health protocols can curb virus transmission, Adisasmito said.

“It shows that although there are new COVID-19 variants or changes in the development of COVID-19 cases, applying strict health protocols is key to handling the pandemic,” he added.

On February 17, 2022, Indonesia reported 63,956 additional confirmed cases, taking the total number of active cases to 469,868, he informed.

Source: Antara News

The government respects efforts from public members to lodge a judicial review to the ministry’s regulation on old-age insurance to the Supreme Court as the dynamics of democracy, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah stated.

“The government respects efforts to lodge a judicial review to Ministry Regulation No. 2 of 2022 (on old-age insurance) as the dynamics of democracy,” Fauziyah noted in her statement received in Jakarta on Friday.

During a dialog for a podcast hosted by celebrity Deddy Corbuzier on Thursday (Feb 17), Fauziyah elaborated that as the regulation had been ratified and currently has the legal power, the ministry has the constitutional obligation to enforce the regulation until the Supreme Court verdict instructs otherwise.

She affirmed that the new regulation is enacted not for the government’s or the Workers Social Security Agency’s (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan’s) interests but for ensuring that residents would receive the full benefit of the old-age insurance program into which they have deposited for years.

Speaking in connection with the concern of payment failure when program participants claim the money after their retirement at the age of 56, the minister clarified that the deposit amount would be invested in a profitable investment scheme monitored by internal and external supervisors.

The external supervisors are the National Social Insurance Council (DJSN), Financial Services Authority (OJK), and State Audit Board (BPK), while the internal supervisors are delegated from groups of employees, employers, experts, the government, and internal control apparatus, she noted.

Fauziyah emphasized that the deposit would not be used by the government for other purposes, as the fund would be managed prudently in a transparent scheme and invested in a profitable scheme with a high return of investment.

“It is incorrect (that the fund would be used by the government). The old-age insurance fund is the worker’s rights and could be claimed while they enter their retirement age of 56, and with simple document requirement of an ID card and their insurance membership card to claim their money,” she remarked.

The minister also noted that the deposit could be withdrawn partially after at least 10 years of insurance membership. The withdrawable fund is capped to 30 percent to purchase a house and to 10 percent for other purposes to prepare for retirement, she added.

Source: Antara News

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) urged the Central Sulawesi provincial government along with the National Police (Polri) and Indonesia Defense Forces (TNI) to prioritize administering the COVID-19 booster vaccine in regions with high social interaction.

“We must administer the COVID-19 booster vaccine in regions with high social interactions,” Jokowi remarked while reviewing COVID-19 vaccination in 17 provinces through a video conference from the Bogor Presidential Palace, Friday.

Apart from administering the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Jokowi also highlighted vaccination coverage at around 48 percent for the second dose in Central Sulawesi.

He urged the Central Sulawesi provincial government to expedite vaccination coverage in the region with help from the TNI and Polri.

“The first dose coverage in Central Sulawesi reaches 86 percent, while the second dose is at 48 percent. Hence, please expedite the administration of the second dose immediately to keep up with the first dose percentage,” Jokowi stated.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief of the Regional Police in Central Sulawesi Brigadier General Hery Santoso affirmed that the implementation of vaccination in Central Sulawesi had been conducted by administering vaccines in public places.

In addition, the government works with the community to administer the COVID-19 vaccine by implementing door-to-door vaccinations targeting the elderly group.

Vaccinations were also intensified in mountainous areas to reach wider recipients, Santoso stated.

Until February 18, 2022, some 86.6 percent of the residents in Central Sulawesi had received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination, while 48.15 percent of them had been fully vaccinated, whereas recipients of the COVID-19 booster vaccine had reached 1.5 percent of the target.

Santoso also reported that vaccine stocks in Central Sulawesi were still sufficient, with 221,101 doses. He revealed that another 88 thousand vaccines would arrive in Central Sulawesi on February 19.

The Central Sulawesi provincial government and the TNI-Polri are targeting to administer 21,350 doses of vaccine on a daily basis.

Source: Antara News

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Friday called for the acceleration of COVID-19 vaccinations in Sumenep District, East Java.

“Since 60 percent of those who died were because they (either) had not been vaccinated, (belong to) the elderly (group), and those with comorbidities. Meanwhile, those who had been vaccinated were infected, yet they were asymptomatic or with mild (symptoms). Thus, (I urge) Sumenep: Please push for vaccinations,” he said from Bogor Presidential Palace at an event that was broadcast virtually.

“I just want to encourage Sumenep District because the first dose (of vaccinations) is capped at 76 percent and the second dose is at 36 percent. I ask the district military commander, regional police chief, and the regional leadership forum to assist in the (effort to increase the vaccination rate) it so that it reaches the highest percentage,” he said.

President Jokowi also directed that “booster” vaccinations be rolled out in areas with high levels of community interactions.

“Tell the public that the key (to controlling the pandemic) is in (getting) vaccinated and (following the) health protocols, particularly (wearing) masks. Tell (them) that!” he remarked.

Head of Sumenep District Achmad Fauzi said that the COVID-19 vaccination rate in Sumenep has reached 76 percent for the first dose and 36 percent for the second dose.

Meanwhile, 82 percent of the elderly have received the first dose and just 26 percent the second dose, he informed.

“But, we will continue to push it to reach 60 percent by the end of this month,” Fauzi said.

Sumenep has also recorded a low COVID-19 vaccination rate among children of around 3.2 percent, he said.

“We are still doing this every day. In Sumenep district, Omicron cases started to rise on February 15, which is approximately a spike in 162 confirmed cases, but on February 16, it fell to 125 and has continued to decline,” he said.

Local schools are still temporarily closed so the authorities can focus on vaccinating children and reducing COVID-19 positive cases, he added.

He disclosed that the hospital occupancy rate at Sumenep Regional General Hospital is still below 26 percent.

“It’s still under control. Lastly, the acceleration of the booster is still quite low. We will try to reach 20 percent by the end of this month because on Madura Island, a little extra (persuasion) is needed so that people want to get vaccinated. There needs to be massive, humane communication,” he remarked.

Based on data from the COVID-19 Task Force, as of February 17, 2022, the total number of positive cases has increased by 63,956 nationwide, bringing the total to 5,030,002. Currently, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Indonesia has reached 469,868.

Meanwhile, with 39,072 additional recoveries, the total tally has reached 4,414,306. With 206 patients succumbing to the disease, the death toll has mounted to 145,828 since the start of the pandemic in Indonesia in March 2020.

As for the vaccinations rate, the government has managed to administer 189,067,416 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while the second dose coverage has reached 138,280,959. As for the third dose, 7,730,486 doses have been administered.

Source: Antara News

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has directed the South Kalimantan regional authority and the military and police heads in the province to collaborate in expediting the distribution of the second vaccine in the province.

“The first vaccine dose coverage in South Kalimantan has reached 85 percent, while the second vaccine dose coverage remains at 50 percent. I expect the military and police heads in the province to assist the local authority in the efforts to expedite the second vaccine distribution process,” the president noted while observing the COVID-19 vaccination report in 17 provinces through video conference from the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Friday.

Apart from expediting the second vaccine distribution process, the president also instructed the local authority to prioritise regions with high level of public activities in organising vaccination drives for the third booster dose.

Jokowi also lauded the province’s vaccination coverage record for the elderly population that had reached 66 percent of the entire targeted population.

“For the third booster vaccine, the regional authority must concentrate the distribution at places with high level of public activity. I also laud South Kalimantan, as the province had recorded a vaccination coverage of 66 percent among members of the elderly group,” Jokowi noted.

Meanwhile, South Kalimantan Governor Sahbirin Noor notified the president that the provincial authority was currently focusing on expediting vaccine distribution in the province.

The governor then made assurance to the president that vaccine stocks in the province were sufficient, especially as the latest vaccine batch shipping for the province had been received by the authority.

Noor spoke of having instructed his subordinates to promptly distribute the vaccine to the recipients.

“I wish to express my gratitude for the latest vaccine shipping, and we are ready to distribute the vaccines to the residents,” Noor remarked.

The governor also expressed gratitude to President Jokowi and the central government for encouraging regions to bolster their COVID-19 vaccination performance to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Antara News