VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia's COVID-19 tally rose by 2,149 on Wednesday, taking the total case count to 6,086,212, according to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

The provinces that recorded the most cases on Wednesday were Jakarta, with 1,134 cases, followed by West Java, with 416 cases; Banten, with 294 cases; East Java, with 113 cases, and Bali, with 56 cases, data received from the task force here on Wednesday showed.

Meanwhile, 1,282 patients recovered from the virus on Wednesday, taking the total number of recoveries to 5,913,307, the data showed.

The country also recorded three new COVID-19 deaths, which took the overall death toll to 156,731.

Meanwhile, the number of active cases or patients undergoing treatment or isolation stood at 16,174.

At least 4,937 people were listed in the suspected category on Wednesday based on tests conducted on 80,020 specimens in laboratories across the country.

The daily specimen positivity rate was recorded at 4.63 percent, while the daily person positivity rate was pegged at 3.93 percent.

Earlier, speaking at the Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, on Sunday, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin had urged people to get the vaccine without delay to strengthen immunity against COVID-19.

The Ministry of Health and the University of Indonesia are conducting the third serosurvey from June to July 2022 to measure the level of antibodies in vaccine recipients.

The survey is required to provide scientific, fact-based inputs to President Joko Widodo so he can decide on the government's policy direction.

The minister informed that the first serosurvey had shown that around 88 percent of Indonesians had developed antibodies against COVID-19, while the second serosurvey found that 99.2 percent of citizens had antibodies against the virus.

According to Sadikin, the serosurvey will be carried out regularly to monitor coronavirus transmission in the community. (Antaranews)

New Zealand supports Indonesia's leadership of the G20, which is themed “Recover Together; Recover Stronger,” New Zealand’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Kevin Burnett, said at a press conference at the New Zealand Embassy, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

"We see strong alignment between Indonesia's Presidency and New Zealand's work plan as APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) chair in 2021, and are committed to working together to secure inclusive and sustainable economic recovery," he added.

This year, Indonesia is holding the Presidency of the G20, a cooperation forum of 20 of the world's major economies, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"New Zealand strongly appreciates Indonesia's invitation to participate in the G20 Trade, Investment, and Industry work stream, including through the New Zealand Minister of Trade visiting Indonesia to attend the ministerial meeting later in 2022," Burnett said.

This will provide an opportunity to not only bolster the two countries' bilateral trade, but also positively impact global recovery efforts, he remarked.

New Zealand and Indonesia are close collaborators in the Indo-Pacific, Burnett said.

"As comprehensive partners, and fellow democracies we have an important role in promoting a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific, with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) at its center," he noted.

The two countries are committed to a region based on the rule of law, a region that is open for trade and investment, a region that is inclusive, a region where sovereignty is respected for all countries, and a region that seeks global peace and stability, he said.

Indonesia is holding the presidency for one year from December 1, 2021, to November 30, 2022. President Joko Widodo took over the G20 presidency from Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on October 31, 2021, during the G20 Summit in Rome, Italy. (Antaranews)

Taiwan will take delivery of its first doses of the Novavax Inc (NVAX.O) COVID-19 vaccine this week, received under the COVAX sharing scheme, the government said on Wednesday.

Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre said the 504,000 doses would arrive on Thursday at Taipei's main international airport.

Taiwan is scheduled to receive 2.268 million doses of the Novavax vaccine in batches this year through the COVAX mechanism, it added.

The shot is yet to be authorised in the United States, but is cleared for use in adults in more than 40 countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The company's COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be more than 90% effective in two large, late-stage trials.

Taiwan has to date been using the AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.L), Moderna Inc (MRNA.O), BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE)/Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and domestically developed Medigen (6547.TWO) vaccines.

Taiwan has a well-vaccinated population with more than 70% of its people having had a first booster shot, with second boosters now being rolled out.

The island of 23 million people has reported more than 3.7 million infections so far this year having previously kept the pandemic well under control, though new cases are now waning. (Reuters)

Joint drills by the United States, South Korea and Japan have a "sinister aim" toward North Korea and are part of a dangerous prelude to the creation of an "Asian version of NATO", North Korean state news agency KCNA said on Wednesday.

The reports on KCNA appeared hours before leaders of South Korea and Japan are due to attend NATO's annual summit as observers for the first time. They will also meet U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss North Korea, the first such trilateral summit since 2017.

The three countries will also conduct a combined missile detection and tracking exercise near Hawaii in August, called Pacific Dragon.

"The U.S. is getting hell-bent on the military cooperation with its stooges in disregard of the primary security demand and concern by Asia-pacific countries," KCNA said.

In a similar statement over the weekend, the North's foreign ministry said the drills showed the hypocrisy of U.S. offers of diplomatic engagement and dialogue without preconditions.

North Korea has conducted a record number of missile tests this year, including of its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, and there are concerns it could be preparing to test a nuclear weapon for the first time since 2017.

South Korea and Japan are both U.S. allies, but their relationship with each other has been strained by historical tensions over Japan's occupation of Korea from 1910-1945.

Washington has pushed Seoul and Tokyo to cooperate more in the face of threats from North Korea, as well as to counter the rising influence of China.

"The scheme for formation of the U.S.-Japan-South Korea military alliance, motivated by Japan's and South Korea's kowtowing to the U.S., is evidently a dangerous prelude to the creation of 'Asian version of NATO'," KCNA said, accusing Washington of fomenting a new Cold War.

Asked if China shared this North Korean view, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters on Wednesday that the world should be "vigilant" against NATO expansion.

"NATO's attempts to provoke confrontation between blocs and to form little cliques will be rejected by everyone and are doomed to fail," said Zhao.

KCNA carried a separate commentary by Kim Hyo-myung, a researcher at North Korea's International Society for Political Research, who said NATO was responsible for the war in Ukraine, and that there are "ominous signs that sooner or later the black waves in the North Atlantic will break the calm in the Pacific."

"NATO is nothing more than a servant of the realization of the U.S. hegemony strategy and a tool of local aggression," Kim wrote. (Reuters)