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PLN Gradually Recovers Electricity Supply (0)
State-owned electricity firm PT PLN has recovered electric power to Balaraja Extra High Voltage substation in Banten Province, and furthermore it will be channeled to Suralaya steam-fueled power plant (PLTU) to gradually recover its operation to reach its capacity of 2800 MW of electricity.
In addition, power supply from Gandul Extra High Voltage substations in Depok, West Java Province, will be channeled to Muara Karang gas and steam power plant (PLTGU) to supply electricity to the Indonesian capital city, Jakarta.
Acting President Director of PLN Sripeni Inten Cahyani said here on Sunday that the power supply to Jakarta was expected to recover within three hours.
"We apologize for the inconvenience today, and currently all efforts have been made to recover the Java-Bali power system, especially in the area of West Java, Banten, and Jakarta," Cahyani said.
The company has focused on power supply to PLTGU Muara Karang and PLTGU Priok to recover the system in the capital city.
Previously, PLN has recovered the operation of hydro-generated power plant (PLTA) Saguling and PLTA Cirata which are functioned as power stabilizer, and, at the same time, supply the electricity to PLTU Suralaya through Cibinong, Depok, Gandul, Lengkok, Balaraja and Suralaya extra high voltage substations.
PLTU Suralaya is expected to return to its normal operation within six hours to normalize power system in West Java and Banten.
Blackout that affected thousands of homes and public facilities in West Java, Jakarta, and Banten was caused by several troubles in the extra high voltage 500 kV transmission of Ungaran - Pemalang.
"PLN has taken its best efforts and will have evaluation to prevent recurrence of today's incident," Cahyani said.
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June
President urges public to not refuse vaccination
Written by Nur Yasmin
President Joko Widodo has urged Indonesians to get vaccinated as soon as they have the opportunity to do so and asked them not to refuse vaccination.
"This is for all of our safety. Vaccination is the best available option at the moment," Widodo said from the Bogor Presidential Palace on Wednesday.
He reiterated that only when everyone works in the same direction can Indonesia overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Indonesian government is targeting to vaccinate one million people per day in July this year as it strives to achieve herd immunity in the country.
In the meantime, Widodo has appealed to the people to strictly adhere to health protocols and not leave their homes for non-essential matters.
"Everyone needs to play their role, everyone needs to contribute, without that unity, we will not be able to stem the spread of COVID-19," he said.
In addition, he has asked provincial, district, and city leaders to strengthen their commitment and enforce the micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM Mikro) more strictly.
Based on data from the COVID-19 Task Force, Indonesia added 13,668 infections as of June 22, 2021, bringing the total tally to 2,018,113 cases. Meanwhile, the number of recoveries increased by 8,375 to reach 1,810,136 and fatalities rose by 335 to touch 55,291.
Meanwhile, the number of Indonesians who have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose increased by 524,111 to reach 23,789,884, while the number of fully vaccinated people climbed by 194,531 to 12,514,917 as of 12 p.m. on June 22, 2021. (Antaranews)
June
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is mulling vaccine-based tourism in Bali as part of efforts to revive the province’s tourism sector.
The plan to open Bali to tourists can continue, but it must consider the latest situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, said here on Tuesday.
"Amid a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, we saw a decline in the number of domestic tourists visiting Bali. Therefore, we proposed a step to coordinate with the Bali governor and we reported it to the president. He agreed on vaccine-based tourism," he informed.
Vaccine-based tourism would ensure that tourists wishing to visit Bali have been vaccinated against COVID-19, he pointed out. Therefore, not only Bali residents, but also tourists traveling to Bali would have been vaccinated, he said.
The ministry is also planning to offer a "work from Bali" tourism package at a later time, Uno disclosed and thanked ministries and non-government institutions that have applied the "work from Bali" policy.
"Our thanks go to the organizations and institutions which have responded to our invitation to apply the ‘work from Bali’ policy so that we can see a rise in the number of tourists visiting Bali, with strict adherence to the heath protocols," the minister said.
Uno said in the next few days he will work from Borobudur or Magelang as an expansion of the work from destination policy.
"I think that vaccination will become the pre-condition of our revival since most of the people (who get) exposed to COVID-19 have not been vaccinated," he remarked. (Antaranews)
June
Enviro Ministry cautions against dumping COVID-19 waste into landfills
Written by Nur Yasmin
Director General of Waste Management from the Environment and Forestry Ministry Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, emphasized that medical waste must not be disposed into landfills, as special treatment down to its extermination are necessary.
"I would like to extend the message that medical waste should not be disposed in landfills," Ratnawati stated during a virtual discussion on medical waste in connection with COVID-19, accessed from Jakarta, Tuesday.
Moreover, Ratnawati highlighted that the ministry, along with law enforcement authorities, will continue to conduct surveillance and take legal actions against those found disposing of medical waste into landfills.
The ban on medical waste disposal into landfills was prompted by the contamination possibly arising in the waste of COVID-19 patients, as it can be dangerous and poisonous due to the infectious nature of the disease.
Moreover, Director of Waste Management Verification Achmad Gunawan, stated during the discussion that medical waste related to COVID-19 must be segregated and kept separate from other poisonous and dangerous waste. The waste must be packaged in tightly closed and air-tight containers.
The extermination process should be conducted in an incinerator, with a minimum burning temperature of 800 degrees Celsius. The waste can also be treated using autoclave facilities, bearing in mind that not all medical waste can be destroyed using autoclaves.
Should there be no access to dangerous and poisonous waste management facilities, then it can be handed over to hospitals that are equipped with such tools or to Environment Offices to be collected in depots.
Gunawan also underscored the criticality of documenting the amount of medical waste being destroyed or handed over to third parties to be processed.
"These depots are direly required, as they help many parties, especially small isolation facilities or independent quarantines. From the depot, the waste is then collected by third parties. All of these must once again be documented," he remarked. (Antaranews)
June
EU to support Indonesia's sustainable palm oil push: Czech Republic
Written by Nur Yasmin
Czech Environment Minister Richard Brabec has assured that the European Union (EU), under the presidency of the Czech Republic, will support Indonesia’s efforts to develop sustainable palm oil.
He also stressed that the EU will, by no means, impose any import ban on Indonesian palm oil.
To that end, the Czech Republic will continue to coordinate and consult with the European commission and parliament to support Indonesia’s efforts, he said following a meeting with Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, in Jakarta.
Czech Ambassador to Indonesia, Jaroslav Dolecek, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade, Martina Tauberová, and president of the Czech Republic Industrial Confederation, Jaroslav Hanák, also attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the two countries decided to intensify cooperation in environmental conservation, including the handling of urban garbage and the management of plastic waste, in which the Czech Republic has excellence, experience, and expertise.
They also identified several areas of cooperation in the field of renewable energy, including geothermal and solar energy, to lower gas emissions and the development of battery technology for electric cars.
As a fellow coal producer, the Czech Republic is ready to assist Indonesia in the use of clean and environmentally friendly coal, Brabec said.
During the meeting, the two countries also agreed on an exchange of experts in the field of mineral resources through the creation of a working group under the bilateral cooperation mechanism.
Indonesia has made persistent efforts to meet the nationally determined contributions (NDC), in accordance with the target of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Hartarto said.
Indonesia is strongly committed to achieving the target of reducing gas emissions by 29 percent on a self-reliant basis and by 41 percent with international support and collaboration, he added.
During the meeting, the Czech Republic lauded Indonesia’s efforts to lower the deforestation rate in the country and reiterated its readiness to support and work more closely with Indonesia in the field of forestry. (Antaranews)
June
COVID surge: SOE Minister assures of availability of antiviral drugs
Written by Nur Yasmin
Amid a spike in coronavirus infections, State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir has assured that Indonesia has sufficient stocks of antiviral drugs produced by pharmaceutical SOEs.
"Oseltamivir, a drug which is produced by Indofarma, the stock is still sufficient," he said during an online press conference originating from Jakarta on Monday.
Thus, there is good availability of antiviral drugs, he added.
"As for the drug Favipiravir, or previously popular with the name Avigan, the stock after checking, where this drug is produced by Kimia Farma, is still in good stock condition," the minister informed.
Though stocks of Remdesivir are rather limited at this time, the ministry is hoping to procure the drug again this month to ensure its availability, he added.
The availability of the antiviral drugs can provide stability, he remarked.
"Of course, we are also working on how, like Oseltamivir and Favipiravir, we can produce our own Remdesivir drug. God Willing, in September we will obtain a license so that we can take care of our needs," Thohir said.
Indonesia added 12,906 coronavirus cases on Saturday (June 19, 2021).
Since March, 2020, the nation has so far recorded as many as 1,976,172 cases.
On Sunday (June 20, 2021), Jakarta’s daily COVID-19 count breached a new record with the addition of 5,582 cases.
Based on data provided by the DKI Jakarta provincial government on the corona.jakarta.go.id page, with the new cases, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Jakarta has jumped to 474,029 cases from 468,447 earlier. (Antaranews)
June
Indonesia, Czech intensify cooperation in environmental protection
Written by Nur Yasmin
Environment and Forestry (LHK) Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar held a bilateral meeting with Czech Minister of the Environment Richard Brabec in pursuit of bolstering cooperation in protecting biodiversity and the environment.
The meeting was marked by the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) of the Republic of Indonesia-Czech Republic on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development Cooperation by the two ministers, according to an official statement from the LHK Ministry received here on Tuesday.
During the meeting, Minister Bakar highlighted the Indonesian government’s commitment to implementing global agreements related to environmental issues whilst ensuring that Indonesia also channels notable attention to environmental issues and takes scientific-based actions.
"The Government of Indonesia's commitment to the climate change control agenda is contained in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Indonesia is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 29 percent using national resources and reducing emissions by 41 percent with international support by 2030," he remarked.
Indonesia has also completed all REDD+ instruments, including the Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL), Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV), National Registry System (SRN), Safeguard Information System (SIS REDD+) and budgeting. To this end, Indonesia has also established the Environmental Fund Management Agency (BPDLH) in October 2019.
Meanwhile, waste management is also a priority for Indonesia, as evidenced by the issuance of Presidential Regulation Number 97 of 2017 on the National Policy and Strategy (Jakstranas) for Waste Management.
The target is set for 100-percent waste management by 2025, through efforts to reduce waste by 30 percent and through waste management by 70 percent.
"To support these efforts, we are also limiting the use of plastic shopping bags, plastic straws, and single-use plastic foam food containers at the modern retail level and the food and beverage service industry. As of October 2020, two provinces, Bali and Jakarta, as well as 38 cities and regencies have implemented regulations prohibiting the use of single-use plastics," he expounded.
On the occasion, the Czech Minister of the Environment Richard Brabec expressed hope for opportunities and cooperation at various levels. This effort was evidenced by the arrival of several Czech delegations that also involved academics, associations, and business entities, especially in the plastic recycling industry.
"I hope these bilateral relations between Indonesia and the Czech Republic on environmental and forestry issues would be improved, so that this cooperation would be mutually beneficial for both countries," Brabec remarked. (Antaranews)
June
APEC moves to strengthen disaster risk management
Written by Nur Yasmin
Senior disaster management officials from APEC member economies are intensifying regional cooperation for a more resilient disaster risk reduction in the face of the current pandemic, climate change, and other risks.
"Member economies have gained so much experience in terms of effectively responding to major disasters and dealing with risks on multiple fronts," Xiaoning Zhang, co-chair of the APEC Emergency Preparedness Working Group, noted in a press release received here on Monday.
"However, we need to improve our risk disaster governance to fit the current situation by encouraging risk-informed development strategies, improving disaster risk monitoring and early warning capacity for better risk identification so that we can respond more comprehensively," he added.
Besides the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, APEC region is suffering heavy losses due to natural events ranging from typhoons, cyclones, floods, earthquakes, landslides, disease epidemics, to plagues, he noted.
According to data presented at the APEC Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum in late May this year, the APEC region recorded disaster-related damage of US$116.9 billion in 2020, excluding losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will entail a complex exercise to uncover, he said.
During last month’s forum, APEC member economies shared disaster risk reduction policies and measures that they are implementing to manage the pandemic, including emergency declarations, mask mandates, new guidelines and protocols for managing evacuation centers, as well as new protocols for crossing borders amid travel restrictions.
Despite all that, challenges remain high, Zhang said. The region’s emergency management capability and capacity has been stretched to unprecedented levels, making reliance on local communities more important than ever before, he added.
APEC members are looking at collective investment in resilience measures across the region, including empowering local communities to act during disaster, especially when there are lockdown measures that prevent workers like first responders from traveling, he said.
In her keynote remarks at the forum, Jenna Rogers of the New Zealand National Emergency Management Emergency, highlighted that events like COVID-19 showcase how vulnerable the region is to such complex hazards.
"Complex hazards, both known and unknown, exacerbate risks for the region. Therefore, it necessitates collective investment in resilience measures and cooperation across APEC to protect the economies," Rogers said.
"Disasters are a significant contingent liability for our prosperity, our economic growth, and development aspirations at all levels and we need to be smarter at reducing the impacts and costs from these disasters as we are experiencing exacerbated frequency and severity of natural hazards as a result of climate change," she added.
Meanwhile, co-chair of the APEC Emergency Preparedness Working Group, Koji Suzuki, argued that disaster reduction is a cross-cutting issue for the APEC region economies.
"We must empower our communities, promote a whole-society approach to ensure everyone has a role to play in building disaster resilience," he stated.
"It is crucial for member economies to develop joint strategies between government agencies and the private sector, as well as foster more international cooperation to track progress, build trust and share best practices in managing and reducing risks in the region," Suzuki added. (Antaranews)
June
Indonesia steps up efforts to achieve herd immunity
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Indonesian government has administered nearly 35.1 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine as of June 19, 2021, with 12,212,906 people receiving their second jabs and 22,873,342 others receiving their first shots of the vaccine.
The government is targeting 40 million people and giving priority to healthcare workers, public service officers, and senior citizens in the first and second phases of the national vaccination program.
Overall, it aims to vaccinate at least 181.5 million citizens, or 70 percent of the population, to create herd immunity against the virus.
To speed up vaccinations, the government is working to expand the capacity of vaccination services — offered to all citizens free of cost — with allocations from its budget as well as funding from the private sector, notably by encouraging company-funded vaccinations for employees.
The government-funded vaccination program has been implemented since January 13, 2021, while the private sector-funded vaccination program called Gotong Royong kicked off on May 18 this year.
"It (Gotong Royong) is aimed at expanding the COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The government's vaccination program and the Gotong Royong program will not use the same vaccines. Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Novavac, and Pfizer cannot be used in the Gotong Royong (vaccination) program," the Health Ministry's spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said adding that China's Sinopharm and Cansino vaccines will be provided under the Gotong Royong program.
To vaccinate the targeted 181.5 million recipients under the national program, the government will require around 426 million vaccine doses.
Hence, the Health Ministry has urged people to not be picky about the COVID-19 vaccines offered by the government, saying the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared all currently authorized and recommended vaccines as safe.
At present, Indonesia’s total COVID-19 caseload exceeds 1.9 million and the number could spike due to the presence of new, more infectious COVID-19 variants.
Therefore, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has directed that the vaccination program be accelerated, saying he is eager to see Indonesia achieve herd immunity by the end of this year or early next year.
He has repeatedly urged vaccination providers to ramp up vaccinations to one million jabs per day. However, since the country is relying on imports of COVID-19 vaccines, this target has proved difficult to achieve.
According to President Jokowi, intensifying vaccinations for players from the financial services industry could help expedite the process of achieving herd immunity in the sector by August, 2021.
He is also optimistic about Jakarta and Bogor district in West Java achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 by August, 2021.
The President has said that he strongly believes that the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations would ascertain the nation’s success in handling the pandemic.
The pace of vaccinations will have to be faster in regions such as Jakarta, which have a large population and high public mobility and interaction, he said.
He outlined a daily target of 100 thousand COVID-19 jabs in Jakarta so as to inoculate 7.5 million residents by the end of August.
"Public interaction in Jakarta is high and so is public mobility. Hence, the pace of vaccinations is key," he remarked.
Widodo also urged all stakeholders in the Indonesian capital to work together to achieve the vaccination target.
"This is an ambitious target, but we have to achieve it to build herd immunity," he stressed.
President Jokowi also spoke with Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan on handling the vaccination program and the availability of vaccines.
Bali, which is among the provinces with the highest vaccination coverage, is already on the brink of attaining herd immunity, based on the vaccination participation level. The local health authorities in Bali have administered over 2.2 million vaccine doses so far.
"We have set the minimum target of three million Balinese residents to receive vaccine shots to reach the 70-percent herd immunity of its population," the task force’s head of behavior change, Sonny Harmadi, said.
Public compliance with wearing masks and maintaining a safe distance has worked favorably for Bali, he noted.
The compliance levels in all districts in Bali have reached over 93 percent, he said.
In the meantime, the World Health Organization (WHO) has commended President Widodo's commitment to expediting and optimizing the national vaccination program as part of endeavors to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Indonesia is one of the countries with successful vaccination programs," WHO's immunization officer for Indonesia, Olivi Silalahi, said recently.
As a country that has not been able to produce vaccine on its own, Indonesia is among the countries to have made progress in implementing COVID-19 vaccination. The challenge is to reach vulnerable groups, she said.
Despite this success, Indonesia is facing several challenges, including those related to the dissemination of information about the implementation of the vaccination program.
Information about vaccine side-effects have made some sections of the public wary of participating in the program.
"For this reason, we can inform them how the vaccine works and how the vaccine is effective to stem infection and prevent transmission to reduce the number of patients," Prof. Pratiwi Pudjilestari Sudarmono, a clinical microbiologist with the University of Indonesia (UI), advised.
The success of the national vaccination program will depend on the availability and distribution of vaccines to cover more people, especially to achieve the target of one million vaccinations per day, Sudarmono said. (Antaranews)
June
COVID-19 vaccines used in Indonesia have been tested: Health Ministry
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Health Ministry ensures the people that the COVID-19 vaccines used in Indonesia have been tested from various aspects so that they are safe to use.
"The vaccines provided or prepared by the Health Ministry have been tested from various aspects of safety, efficacy and quality," said Secretary General of the Health Ministry Oscar Primadi in a virtual press conference held after the arrival of another 10 million doses of Sinovac bulk vaccine at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten province, on Sunday.
The Food and Drug Control Agency issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to the vaccines that have met the aspects. After that, the vaccines could be used for the COVID-19 vaccination program in order to give benefit to recipients ,
On Sunday Indonesia received 10 million doses of Sinovac bulk vaccines to produce vaccines to meet the target of vaccinating 181.5 million Indonesians, so that the public will gain herd immunity against COVID-19.
As of June 20, 2021, Indonesia has received 104,728,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, comprising 94,500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine, 8,228,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and 2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine.
Primadi said the procurement of the vaccine was carried out through various efforts, including bilateral cooperation and the development of a domestic vaccine called MerahPutih (Red and White) vaccine.
He said the arrival of the 10 million doses of Sinovac bulk vaccine would encourage the smooth implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination program.l.
He ensured that government will make constant efforts to accelerate and strengthen the vaccination program.
"But, once again we urge the community to adhere to health protocols, avoid crowds, maintain social distance, and wear masks," said the secretary general. (Antaranews)
June
Indonesia gets another 10 million doses of Sinovac bulk vaccines
Written by Nur Yasmin
Indonesia has received an additional 10 million doses of Sinovac bulk vaccines in the 17th shipment that arrived in the Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten province on Sunday.
"Today we got another 10 million bulk vaccines, which means that 91 million doses have arrived in the country, to produce COVID-19 vaccine," said Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health Oscar Primadi in a virtual press conference at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Sunday. Primadi emphasized that the government is always present to secure hundreds of millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine needed to carry out the vaccination program for 181.5 million Indonesians targeted to receive the vaccine.
The procurement is carried out through various channels including bilateral efforts while continuing to explore with domestic development.
"With this arrival, we continue to make efforts to distribute and then carry out a vaccination program so that it runs well," he said.
He ensured that the vaccines used in the COVID-19 vaccination program had passed tests to ensure their safety, and that way, an emergency use authorization could be issued by the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM).
According to data from the Ministry of Health, a total of 104,728,400 doses of vaccine have been received by Indonesia as of June 20, 2021. With 94,500,000 doses being produced by Sinovac, 8,228,000 doses from AstraZeneca, and 2,000,000 doses from Sinopharm.
Meanwhile, as of Saturday (19/6), a total of 12.2 million people had received a complete dose of the vaccine, with 22.8 million people receiving the first dose. (Antaranews)