VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian citizens are urged to remain vigilant of the threat of a COVID-19 third wave, especially during Christmas 2021 and New Year 2022, the Health Ministry's official noted in a written statement received here, Monday.

"Currently, Indonesia is entering a phase wherein the number of cases of COVID-19 are not increasing," the Ministry's Communication and Public Service Bureau Head, Widyawati, noted.

However, the people’s mobility should be reduced to as much extent as possible in order to prevent a spike in cases, especially since most cases of COVID-19-related deaths in Indonesia occurred in July, she highlighted.

Some 32,061 deaths were recorded from July 1 to July 29, which is four folds higher than the total death count of 7,913 in June 2021, she pointed out.

"Never forget what occurred in July during which we saw the maximum number of deaths due to COVID-19. Obey the health protocols. Do not let your guard down," Widyawati emphasized.

In a bid to prevent the third wave of COVID-19 from surfacing, the government has implemented Public Activity Restriction (PPKM) Level 3 from December 24, 2021, to January 2, 2022, she noted.

Widyawati cautioned that the people should not allow momentary freedom during the Christmas and New Year to be causal to a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, as it would not only affect the people's health but also cause economic stagnation.

"There are still people, who were exposed to COVID-19, though the figure is small. Hence, continue to implement 3M (wearing mask, washing hand, and maintain distance), avoid crowds, and restrict mobility," Widyawati affirmed.

The government is also expediting vaccination to bolster herd immunity. Citizens are encouraged to not be picky when it comes to the vaccine types, as all vaccines provided by the government are the best.

Citizens' efforts are also crucial to avoid the surfacing of the COVID-19 third wave in Indonesia.

"If the people care and continue to follow the health protocols, then COVID-19 could be prevented and the third wave would not occur," she noted. (antaranews)

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), in a press statement here, Monday, confirmed that its disaster resilient program called Sapa Destana will be implemented to strengthen tsunami mitigation capacity in the south of Java.

BNPB's Readiness Directorate will mobilize the pentahelix elements comprising the government, entrepreneurs, academicians, media, and community to improve readiness for disaster scenarios through Sapa Destana.

Sapa Destana is a form of effort to remind the pentahelix elements of the tsunami mitigation knowledge about Disaster Resilient Village (Destana).

The effort to remind the elements is being made, so that Destana's pentahelix elements could access information and respond effectively to them, take requisite precautionary measures against likely disasters, and have the protective strength by gaining knowledge about the evacuation method.

It would also allow them to adapt to the disaster potential, be flexible, and immediately recover, as well as be able to lead a normal life after the disaster.

Sapa Destana also aims to ensure sustainability of the readiness efforts since the expedition was conducted in Java's south region.

The effort to strengthen mitigation through Sapa Destana involved the planting of two thousand mangrove seeds on November 28 in Kembang Village, Pacitan, East Java.

Official from East Java's Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency, Budi Sentosa, noted that the region had faced several natural disasters, including tsunamis.

"Hence, residents living in the shoreline area should be ready to face a likely tsunami," he noted while delivering a message from East Java's Governor, Khofifah Indah Parawansa.

"Residents are expected to know about the signs of tsunami, how to evacuate, as well as directly involve themselves to reduce the impact of tsunami," he added.

BNPB's Primary Secretary, Lilik Kurniawan, highlighted three methods to mitigate disasters: keep people away from disaster, keep disaster away from people, and live alongside disaster.

In order to handle the threat of tsunami in the south of Java, people-based mitigation efforts should be conducted sustainably, Kurniawan emphasized. (Antaranews)

Automotive expert and Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) academic Yannes Martinus Pasaribu believes the electric vehicle (EV) market in Indonesia will grow in 2022, as the general public becomes more familiar with the novel EVs.

"We forecast a rising public trend in purchasing two-wheeled and four-wheeled hybrid and electric vehicles by early 2022," Pasaribu told ANTARA, as quoted on Monday.

Public interest in EVs could be attributed to the efforts made by the government and the automotive industry to educate the public in addition to the interest often shown by people in novelties, he noted.

The expert also highlighted the government's role in procuring more EVs as important to reiterate the commitment to using EVs and to setting an example for the public.

Meanwhile, Chief of the Presidential Staff Moeldoko also suggested government institutions to start using EVs to demonstrate that they have similar capabilities as their non-electric counterparts in performing daily tasks, thereby increasing public trust in EVs.

"The government can boost the market potential by utilising EVs as official or operational vehicles, akin to how the Transportation Ministry had commenced earlier," the presidential staff chief remarked.

Apart from government institutions, Moeldoko recommended public transportation operators to start using electric cars, thereby allowing commuters to gain first-hand experience regarding them.

"The use of electric vehicles must be expanded to other ministries and means of public transportation," he remarked.

Popular utilisation of EVs in government offices and by public transportation operators would increase investor trust to invest in Indonesia's EV industry, Moeldoko remarked.

By facilitating greater investment in the industry, EVs in Indonesia would become more affordable to the public, as EV components could be produced locally, he added.  (Antaranews)

Indonesia has extended its COVID-19 quarantine period for international and Indonesian travelers arriving in the country from three days to one week to anticipate the importation of Omicron variant (B.1.1.529).

The Indonesian Government's decision to change its COVID-19 quarantine period for international travelers was disclosed by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan here Sunday.

The foreign nationals who had ever traveled to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, Malawi, Angola, Zambia, and Hong Kong (China) within the past 14 days will be denied entry, he added.

The number of countries affected by Indonesia's temporary entry ban would periodically be evaluated, said Pandjaitan, who is also deputy head of the National Economic and COVID-19 Recovery Committee (KPC-PEN).

For Indonesians who return home from abroad but have ever traveled to the countries receiving the temporary entry ban, they will be quarantined for 14 days, he said.

The new COVID-19 quarantine period for foreign nationals and Indonesian citizens arriving in Indonesia from abroad would have been made effective at one minute after midnight on November 29, 2021, he said.

The Health Ministry would also boost genomic sequencing of COVID-19 to detect the Omicron variant, he said.

Meanwhile, Spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination at the ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi said earlier that the Indonesian Government has continued to monitor the new virus variant through the whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis.

"Until now, the new variant has not been detected in Indonesia," she remarked.

According to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) report, she noted that the Omicron variant can quickly transmit, easily cause COVID-19 reinfection, and reduce vaccine efficacy.

Lung specialist at the Faculty of Medicine of University of Indonesia, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, suggested that the quarantine period for international travelers need to be extended to one or two weeks after they arrive in Indonesia.

"In the circular letter of the Director General of Immigration, there are exceptions for foreigners who will attend G20 meetings. However, they must undergo strict examinations and an adequate quarantine period," he said.

He noted that WHO had classified the Omicron variant into the Variant of Concern (VOC) on November 26, 2021. Meanwhile, the virus was confirmed for the first time on November 9, 2021. (Antaranews)