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February
Feb. 4 - South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday ordered a revamp of social distancing guidelines in a bid to win greater public support for efforts to stop local transmission of the new coronavirus.
The country’s five-tier social distancing system has faced a public backlash for imposing unfair restrictions and curfews on specific businesses, including a ban on indoor restaurant dining after 9 p.m.
“Rather than introduce the guidelines unilaterally, we should make the virus prevention rules along with the public,” Chung told an intra-agency meeting on Thursday.
Separately, health authorities warned on Thursday that a large fourth wave of infections caused by the more transmissible British and South African coronavirus variants cannot be ruled out. There have been 39 confirmed cases of those variants.
While South Korea had initial success in containing the virus without drastic lockdowns, an incremental approach to social distancing and more rigid guidelines were criticised for leaving it scrambling to contain a third wave of transmissions.
At the same time, however, hundreds of restaurant and cafe owners across the country complained about the impact of the bans on their businesses. Gym owners hurt by restrictions reopened in protest against strict social distancing rules, ahead of the recent lifting of the ban.
South Korea has one of the world’s highest proportion of self-employed people, about 25% of the job market, making it particularly vulnerable to downturns.
Authorities on Sunday extended by two weeks a requirement to observe social distancing, urging vigilance ahead of the Lunar New Year break, when tens of millions of Koreans usually travel across the country. The holiday begins on Feb. 11.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 7 new deaths and 451 new cases by Wednesday, for a total of 1,448 deaths and 79,762 cases overall. (Reuters)
February
Feb. 4 - India's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (LBBP) to Indonesia Manoj Kumar Bharti spoke of being enthralled by Indonesian culture and commended Indonesia's leadership in the ASEAN.
Kumar made the remarks in his statement at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday.
"It is a matter of great honor for me to serve as the ambassador of India to the closest and strategic friend of the Indonesian republic. I really admire Indonesia's culture and its leadership in the ASEAN," Kumar noted, as witnessed virtually, in Jakarta, Thursday.
The ambassador expressed optimism that Indonesia would always remain victorious and that the cooperation between both nations would always run well.
Manoj affirmed that both nations had several shared similarities.
Manoj noted that both nations enjoyed sound relations, and that India always held a high opinion of Indonesia.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had earlier received credentials from ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary (LBBP) from seven countries.
Handover of the credentials was held at the Credential Room, Merdeka Palace, here, Thursday morning.
The seven ambassadors are all domiciled in Jakarta.
The new ambassadors are Muhammad Mostafizur Rahman from Bangladesh, Muhammaf Hassan Islamic from Pakistan, Manoj Kumar Bharti from India, Jaroslav Dolecek from Czech Republic, Kanasugi Kenji from Japan, Andrian Balanescu from Romania, and Amenatave Vakasavuwaqa from Fiji. (Antaranews)
February
Feb. 4 - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Thursday afternoon, bore witness to the mass vaccinations for health workers in Jakarta.
Based on a live video broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat monitored in Jakarta, Thursday, President Jokowi, accompanied by Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, visited the location of mass vaccination for health workers at the Istora Senayan Building, here.
Wearing a mask and face shield, the head of state also took time out to speak to one of the health workers, who was about to be administered the COVID-19 vaccine.
The head of state then toured several vaccination locations in the building.
Based on information from the broadcast video, the Ministry of Health is targeting to vaccinate as many as six thousand health workers in DKI Jakarta this Thursday. Vaccinations for health workers in DKI Jakarta will be conducted this Thursday from 8:30 to 15:30 Western Indonesia Time (WIB).
The mass vaccination was organized by the Ministry of Health, DKI Jakarta Health Service, and PT Bio Farma Persero.
As of Thursday, over 600 thousand health workers were injected with the COVID-19 vaccine. Health workers are the priority targets for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Ministry of Health has outlined a target to inoculate 1.5 million health workers by the end of February 2021.
Once the health workers are vaccinated, the government will offer the COVID-19 vaccine for free to 17.4 million public service officers.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin earlier stated that the government had set itself a target of inoculating 1.5 million health professionals by late February of 2021.
"It is estimated that by the end of this month, we will have vaccinated 500 thousand healthcare workers. Hence, we can achieve the target of (inoculating) 1.5 million of them through the end of February," Sadikin stated during an online seminar on Saturday.
After the vaccination of medical workers is completed, the government will begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine to public service officers, including military and police personnel.
Sadikin is optimistic that the vaccination of public service officers would be rolled out in early March of this year, and the general public can receive their first vaccine doses, starting from late April this year.
The minister pointed out that several vaccine producers had yet to complete clinical tests that had led to uncertainty over the immune period. Hence, he called for expediting the vaccination process.
Indonesia has currently secured vaccine supply from four different producers: 125 million doses from China’s Sinovac and 50 million doses each from Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Novavax. (Antaranews)
February
Feb. 4 - India's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (LBBP) to Indonesia Manoj Kumar Bharti expressed his admiration for Indonesian culture and lauded Indonesia's leadership in the ASEAN.
Kumar made the remark in his statement at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday.
"It is a matter of great honor for me to serve as the ambassador of India to the closest and strategic friend of the Indonesian Republic. I really admire Indonesia's culture and its leadership in the ASEAN," Kumar noted, as witnessed virtually, here on Thursday.
The ambassador expressed optimism that Indonesia would always remain victorious and that the cooperation between both nations would always run well.
Manoj affirmed that both nations had several shared similarities.
Manoj noted that both nations enjoyed sound relations and that India always held a high opinion of Indonesia.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had earlier received credentials from ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary (LBBP) from seven countries.
Handover of the credentials was held at the Credential Room, Merdeka Palace, here, Thursday morning.
The seven ambassadors are all domiciled in Jakarta.
The new ambassadors are Muhammad Mostafizur Rahman from Bangladesh, Muhammaf Hassan Islamic from Pakistan, Manoj Kumar Bharti from India, Jaroslav Dolecek from Czech Republic, Kanasugi Kenji from Japan, Andrian Balanescu from Romania, and Amenatave Vakasavuwaqa from Fiji. (Antaranews)