VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 A return to stricter COVID-19 curbs in Singapore will be a "last resort", Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Monday, as the city-state partially eased limits on social gatherings and dining out under its calibrated reopening approach.

Ong also said the international travel and tourism hub would continue to open "travel lanes" with more countries for vaccinated visitors.

Singapore is gradually granting small groups of vaccinated people increased liberties, resuming in-person business events and permitting quarantine-free travel from select countries as it ramps up its vaccine booster programme.

"I feel it's important to do it this way, because it minimizes the chance of us having to backpedal too frequently," Ong told Reuters in an interview on Monday for the upcoming Reuters Next conference.

"You can't rule out having to throttle back sometimes, but it should always be a last resort, because it's extremely frustrating for people."

Singapore has vacillated between tightening and easing restrictions for its population of 5.45 million in recent months as, like many countries, it was hit by a fresh wave of infections fuelled by the Delta variant.

Ong said it was too difficult to put a timeframe on when Singapore would reach a "new normal", but he hoped the country's high vaccination rates and the current roll-out of booster shots meant it would continue to ease restrictions.

"I hope that whatever liberty that we now gradually, progressively can return back to the people, we can keep them for next year, even as a new wave arrives," said Ong.

Singapore was one of several so-called COVID-zero countries that enforced some of the world's strictest measures to keep infections and deaths from the pandemic - at around 252,200 and 662, respectively - relatively low.

This year, it switched to a strategy of living with the virus as endemic. Around 94% of those eligible have been vaccinated, while 23% of the total population has received a booster shot.

Among its latest easing measures, limits on social gatherings and dining out were eased from two to five people, still restrictive compared to many other countries.

Authorities have also tightened measures against unvaccinated people, effectively barring them from dining out or entering malls and will begin to charge them for COVID-19 treatment if they refused a vaccine by choice.

TRAVEL HUB

Singapore has been expanding quarantine free travel from more than a dozen countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Canada and the United States via so-called vaccinated "travel lanes."

It will start these lanes with Malaysia and India at the end of the month. The lanes allow fully vaccinated people to enter the island without quarantining if they pass their COVID-19 tests.

"It is important for us to establish this, as such a small outwardly oriented country, we need to connect with the world," said Ong. "For the foreseeable future, I think vaccinated travel lanes will be the norm." (Reuters)

Indonesia's defence minister has said his country understands the reasons behind the United States, Australia and Britain establishing the AUKUS security agreement, though at a forum at the weekend repeated concerns about an arms race in the region.

The trilateral security pact, formulated in part to respond to a rising China, has sparked regional worries given it allows for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

When asked about AUKUS at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Saturday, defence minister Prabowo Subianto said he understood why countries would move to secure their interests.

"Officially our position is that of course Southeast Asia should remain nuclear free, and the fear of course among Southeast Asian nations is that this will spark an arms race," he said.

"But as I said the emphasis of every country is to protect their national interest. If they feel threatened… they will do whatever they can to protect themselves," said Prabowo.

"And this is what I mean that we understand that and we respect them."

His comments appear to offer a more pragmatic view of the pact after Indonesia's foreign ministry issued a statement in September saying it was "deeply concerned" by the alliance, warning that it could spark a regional arms race.

The security pact comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, as countries push back against China’s maritime claims in the strategic, and resource-rich waterway.

On Friday the United States called China’s use of water cannon against Philippine resupply boats in the South China Sea “dangerous, provocative and unjustified".

Indonesia's navy in September increased patrols around its Natuna islands after Chinese and U.S. vessels were detected in nearby waters, while there has also been recent activity by a Chinese research vessel near an oil rig in the area.

China has not claimed the Natuna islands, but says it has nearby fishing rights within a self-proclaimed Nine-Dash Line that includes most of South China Sea - a claim disputed by some Southeast Asian countries and not recognised internationally. (Reuters)

The risk of an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country is still high, an epidemiologist from the Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia, Iwan Ariawan, has said.

"The risk of an increase in cases is still high, although not as high as after the previous Christmas and New Year holidays or after Eid al-Fitr," he observed here on Monday.

According to the epidemiologist, the public must not stop following the health protocols as the threat of a rise in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia is still high.

On Sunday (Nov 21), the country added 314 daily cases and 11 deaths, the COVID-19 Task Force reported.

The most active cases were recorded in Papua, West Java, and Central Java, with each reporting over one thousand cases, Ariawan said.

Thus, the health protocols need to be followed so that there is no increase in COVID-19 cases again, he said. "So, that we can immediately turn this COVID-19 (as an) endemic condition next year," he remarked.

Community activity restrictions have been imposed in accordance with regional indicators. This means that the restriction levels can be lowered and raised again depending on the development of COVID-19 cases in a district or city, he explained.

"If people don't want the community activities restriction level to be raised again, then we have to take care to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases again. The trick is to consistently carry out healthcare, (the use of) PeduliLindungi (application), vaccinate, and test-trace-isolate cases," he said.

He further said that adherence to the health protocols is the simplest thing everyone can do, which can greatly reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting COVID-19.

It must be done well or properly and consistently, he stressed.

"So that we can prevent an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases; thus, we can be more safe and comfortable in carrying out economic and social activities," he added. (Antaranews)

The development of geoparks into tourist destinations will have a multiplier effect on the community, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir said at the virtual Indonesian Geopark National Conference here on Monday.

It would not only create investment opportunities, but also open new jobs in the creative economy sector, which could improve the people’s economy and welfare, he elaborated.

Currently, Indonesia has six geological sites that have been designated as global geoparks by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), he noted.

Still, there are dozens of such sites which can be developed into internationally acknowledged geoparks, he said.

"Hence, SOEs as development agents highly support the government's attempts in preserving and developing geoparks," the minister remarked.

The development will be carried out in accordance with the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he said.

In addition, the development will not only focus on the economic sector, but also pay attention to local wisdom to ensure that the area is not overexploited, he added.

This would allow the geological, biological, and cultural wealth of the area to remain protected and preserved, Thohir said.

"Let’s continue to advance and preserve the culture and nature of Indonesia. No one else can do it, except us," Thohir emphasized.

Earlier, assistant deputy for social and environmental responsibility at the SOEs Ministry, Agus Suharyono, had said that the ministry is encouraging enterprises to collaborate in maintaining and advancing geoparks as their corporate social responsibility toward the community.

He lauded state-owned credit guarantee company PT Jamkrindo for its assistance in the development of geoparks by helping the surrounding micro and small businesses to improve, especially at the Ciletuh Geopark in Sukabumi district, West Java province.

Collaboration is crucial in geoparks development as there are many aspects that must be improved to optimize the sites’ benefits for the community, he remarked. (Antaranews)