Author: admin

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government is encouraging the use of PeduliLindungi app for digital tracing of COVID-19 infections and controlling transmission, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said.

“Tracing results through PeduliLindungi application will facilitate the public in obtaining treatment, if necessary. This treatment can certainly help break the COVID-19 transmission chain,” the minister explained in a statement released here on Thursday.

Digital tracing will make it easier for the government to identify and detect patients through the use of location tracking data and digital information, he informed.

The PeduliLindungi application has been integrated with the database of the Health Ministry, therefore, through QR Codes, the ministry can track data on vaccinated people and results of PCR and swab antigen tests, Hartarto said. Once it is downloaded from the App Store or Google Play onto a mobile phone and the location data on the phone is enabled, the PeduliLindungi app can identify the user’s location from time to time and provide information on high-risk locations and transmission zones, he informed.

Hartarto, who is also chairman of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPC-PEN), said the government is also recommending the use of the Silacak app to improve tracing in regions.

The Silacak app uses tracing information sourced mainly from village affiliated non-commissioned officers (Babhinsa) and security and public order constables (Bhabinkamtibmas), he said. Digital tracing is an effort by the government to boost testing, tracing, and treatment (3Ts) especially amid a rise in cases involving the Delta variant of the coronavirus, the minister added.

The PeduliLindungi app will also continue to be used as a screening tool for people traveling by air and train, he said.

The app will be used as a Check-in Venue for people performing activities outside or entering public places such as malls, restaurants, shops, airports, stations, and tourist attractions, he added.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Law and Human Rights Ministry has said it has slashed its budget and reallocated as much as Rp1.1 trillion, through a four-phase refocusing of funds, for COVID-19 pandemic handling. “This endeavor mirrors the ministry’s full support for COVID-19 handling,” Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly remarked here on Thursday.

The ministry is also proposing a Presidential regulation pertaining to the issuance of drug patents by the government, he disclosed.

The regulation is being drafted in response to the current situation regarding the availability of drug variants that the public urgently needs, he explained.

“Hence, the government will issue patents on drugs for treating COVID-19,” Laoly added. In addition, the ministry is planning to convert the office of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property in Tangerang, Banten into a self-isolation facility to support COVID-19 handling, he informed.

“We are preparing the self-isolation venue and now it is being prepared,” he informed.

The ministry will not only prepare the self-isolation venue, but also provide supporting facilities, including health workers and drugs, he added.

The office of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property is being converted as a precautionary measure against a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, he explained.

“As a precautionary measure, we probably need to provide it to help the government handle the COVID-19 pandemic,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News

Preparations are in full swing in Merauke for this year’s PON National Games, which the district will co-host with Jayapura City and the districts of Jayapura and Mimika from October 2 to October 15.

The construction and renovation of facilities at the sporting venues and the athletes village, which will be used for the country’s most prestigious multi-sport event, have nearly reached completion.

According to Merauke district head Romanu Mbaraka, the construction of facilities has reached 95 percent completion this week, and will finish before the D-day.

Papua’s PON National Games, which will feature 37 events, are expected to draw at least 6,400 athletes and 3,500 officials from 34 provinces across the country. Merauke district is scheduled to host six of the 37 events.

The six events are women’s soccer, motorcycle racing, fencing, chess, wrestling, and Wushu. The PON organizing committee has selected the Katalpal soccer stadium as the venue for the women’s soccer match. The five remaining competitions will be held in Tanah Miring sub-district’s St Yoseph Church’s complex area, Swiss-Belhotel’s ballroom, and Dispora futsal court.

The Merauke district government has worked to keep preparations for the PON National Games on track amid the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mbaraka said.

Over the past few weeks, with the Delta variant of the coronavirus beginning to tighten its grip on the province, Papua has been struggling to cope with a drastic rise in COVID-19 cases.

Papua’s COVID-19 task force recently disclosed that 18 cities and districts across the province have been affected by the recent wave of infections.

Six of the affected areas are located in mountainous regions in the districts of Jayawijaya, Lanny Jaya, Tolikara, Pegunungan Bintang, Paniai, and Puncak Jaya, the task force’s spokesperson, Silwanus Sumule, said. The 12 other affected regions comprise Jayapura City and the districts of Jayapura, Merauke, Boven Digul, Asmat, Mappi, Mimika, Biak Numfor, Supiori, Kepulauan Yapen, Nabire, and Keerom.

Added to this, the Indonesian Health Ministry’s Health Research and Development Agency (Litbangkes) has confirmed cases of the more contagious and transmissible Delta variant in Merauke district.

As disclosed by the Merauke COVID-19 task force spokesperson, Neville Maskita, on July 20, 2021, the cases of the Delta variant were confirmed based on lab tests of samples sent to the agency’s laboratory.

The Litbangkes announced that the COVID-19 Delta variant had spread to Merauke, Papua, based on the lab test results, he said.

On July 22, 2021, the task force recorded 421 COVID-19 cases, with most patients placed in self-isolation and 40 hospitalized at the Merauke public hospital. Seven days later, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases fell to 326, the task force said.

The Merauke COVID-19 task force also revealed on its official website, http://covid19.merauke.go.id/, that four residents had died of the novel coronavirus disease, while 126 close contacts of COVID-19 patients had been traced, and eight persons were suspected of having contracted the infection, as of July 29.

To deal with the COVID-19 surge in the district, the task force has asked the Health Ministry for more medical oxygen and ventilators. “May the ministry meet our request,” Maskita remarked.

Owing to the ongoing threat posed by COVID-19, President Joko Widodo recently appealed to the concerned agencies to inoculate all athletes and officials participating in Papua’s PON National Games and National Para Games (Pepernas) to ensure their safety.

The head of state also instructed that local residents living near the venues of the sporting events and athletes’ villages be vaccinated, according to Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali.

As part of precautionary measures, the Papua administration is planning to enforce a month-long lockdown in August this year, and has intensified mass drives to get local residents vaccinated.

To this end, the government has asked residents to be prepared for the month-long lockdown during which all entry points to Papua will be closed to curb an exponential increase in COVID-19 infections in communities.

In addition, the Papua administration is also planning to integrate the mobile application developed for the PON National Games and Peparnas with the PeduliLindungi app.

Officials from the Papua Communication and Informatics Office (Diskominfo) met with their counterparts from the Health Ministry in Jakarta on July 28, 2021 to discuss this, head of Diskominfo-Papua Office, Jeri A. Yudianto, confirmed.

Integrating the mobile apps will help the authorities trace and track COVID-19 cases in communities during the two multi-sport events, he said.

Yudianto said he expects the PON and Peparnas mobile app to be integrated with the Health Ministry’s PeduliLindungi app by the third week of August at the latest.

By integrating the app prior to the convening of the PON National Games’ delegation registration meeting, COVID-19 prevention and mitigation efforts can be optimized, he emphasized.

Source: Antara News

Malang, Jawa Timur (ANTARA) – The Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) of Malang district, East Java organized another mass vaccination program for five thousand local residents on Thursday to help accelerate the district’s COVID-19 immunization efforts.

Mass vaccinations were carried out at several locations spread over the Gondanglegi and Pakis sub-districts, Malang police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Bagoes Wibisono said at the police headquarters on Thursday.

“Today’s mass vaccination target is five thousand doses of vaccine administered to five thousand people,” he added. Vaccinations were conducted at several locations to avoid crowding and in strict adherence with the health protocols, Wibisono explained.

The venues for the program included State Elementary School (SDN) 2 Ketawang, Vocational High School (SMK) Muhammadiyah 7 Gondanglegi, State Elementary School (SDN) 1 Sekarpuro Pakis, and State Elementary School (SDN) 1 Asrikaton Pakis, he informed.

“This is proof of our commitment to support the government in accelerating the vaccination rollout so that herd immunity can be achieved soon,” he stated.

The police will go all out to support government programs for handling coronavirus transmission, especially in the Malang district area, Wibisono stressed. Meanwhile, Malang district head M Sanusi said the district government will continue to accelerate the vaccination program. However, the program’s implementation will depend on the supply of vaccines received by the local government, he added.

Malang district has so far recorded 9,028 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of the total patients, 5,285 have recovered from the infection, 395 have succumbed to it, while the remaining are still undergoing treatment, as per official data.

The Indonesian government launched its free vaccination program on January 13, 2021 to boost immunity and break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.

Source: Antara News

Bandung (ANTARA) – Ten COVID-19 vaccination centers have been set up in ten sub-districts of Bogor District through a collaboration between the West Java Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and the district government to accelerate efforts to achieve herd immunity.

Three mass vaccination drives targeting 56 thousand residents have been organized at the ten centers on July 26, July 28, and August 2, 2021, the agency’s head Dani Ramdan said at an online press conference on Thursday.

The vaccination centers are located in the sub-districts of Ciomas, Sukaraja, Parung, Kemang, Cileungsi, Gunung Putri, Citeureup, Tajur Halang, Bojong Gede, and Cibinong.

“I hope Bogor residents will take this opportunity (to get vaccinated) and help their body to develop immunity (against COVID-19),” Ramdan said, adding that the vaccination drives are expected to help reduce the death rate in the region. According to Ramdan, the BPBD is targeting to vaccinate 70-80 per cent, or around 37 million, of West Java’s 50 million residents. Therefore, vaccination centers are essential to accelerate immunization efforts as meeting the target would not be an easy feat.

“We must admit (the vaccination target) is very large, because to achieve the same number on another occasion, a vaccination process should continue for at least ten years,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Bogor district administration’s secretary, Burhanudin, said the district’s vaccination drive is targeting 4.2 million of its 5.7 million residents. To achieve at least 20 per cent of the target, around 1.2 million residents will need to be vaccinated by August, 2021, he added.

Besides organizing vaccinations at the West Java Disaster Mitigation Agency and Bogor District’s joint vaccination centers, the district authorities have also arranged vaccination drives at community health centers (Puskesmas) in the sub-districts every Monday and Wednesday, with a daily quota of two thousand vaccinations at each Puskesmas, he said.

“Therefore, there would be around 160 thousand recipients every week on our vaccination drive in 40 subdistricts,” Burhanudin informed.

Source: Antara News