VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Director of Surveillance and Health Quarantine of the Health Ministry R. Vensya Sitohang held a press conference with the Task Force for Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling in Jakarta on Monday (June 8, 2020). ANTARA/Katriana/sh

Indonesia's Health Ministry highlighted the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the immunization program for infants and children nationwide.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on the implementation of the immunization program," the ministry's Director of Surveillance and Health Quarantine, R. Vensya Sitohang, stated during a press conference with the Task Force for Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling in Jakarta on Monday.

Sitohang remarked that almost 83.9 percent of health services, particularly the vaccination program, were halted owing to the pandemic.

"It means health services for immunization could not be conducted. We know the impact of suspending vaccination for children," she stated, adding that health services were reportedly suspended in nearly all districts.

The ministry recorded that the trend of basic vaccination for children in April had declined from that in April 2019.

"There was no reported impact yet in January and February. However, a significant decline of almost 4.7 percent was recorded in April, as compared to the coverage in 2019," she pointed out.

Despite the national immunization coverage having met its target, the government will require to accrue more comprehensive data on children that had yet to be vaccinated in each province, district/city, sub-district, and village.

"There is a need to implement a strategy wherein Public Health Services (Puskesmas) know all children by name, address, and vaccination that they require," Sitohang added. (ANTARA)

an illustration - The quake's epicenter on Morotai Island, North Maluku

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolting Morotai District, North Maluku Province, on Thursday (June 4), caused damage to at least 312 homes in six sub-districts, Raditya Jati, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s (BNPB’s) spokesman, reported.

"Based on data as of Saturday (June 6) at 11:39 a.m. local time, the earthquake damaged 312 homes, including 264 homes that incurred slight damage, 34 experiencing moderate damage, and 14 suffering severe damage," Jati noted in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

The earthquake hit the six sub-districts of South Morotai, East Morotai, North Morotai, Morotai Jaya, West South Morotai, and Rau Island.

Morotai Jaya, North Morotai, and South Morotai bore the maximum brunt of the natural disaster.

"A total of 143 households have been affected. The earthquake also caused damage to 12 public facility buildings," he revealed.

The earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale, rattled North Maluku on Thursday (June 4) at 15:49 Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB).

The quake's epicenter was located at 2.93 degrees northern latitude and 128.19 degrees eastern longitude, or 99 kilometers north of Daruba, Morotai Island, and at a depth of 111 kilometers.

The earthquake was felt in Morotai at Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) IV, resulting in panic-stricken locals fleeing their homes.

The residents of Manado, Bitung, Minahasa, Bolmong, Ternate, Sitaro, Tahuna, Tobelo, Sofifi, and Talaud felt the tremor at II-III MMI. (ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on people to exercise regularly in order to boost immunity in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Jokowi exercised in the Bogor Presidential Palace compound and surrounding area, in West Java, on Sunday morning, accompanied by Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto and National Police Chief General Idham Azis.

"We hope that by exercising, our immunity and health to improve. I call on the public to exercise and boost our immunity and health," the President said, as quoted in a press statement issued by the Presidential Secretariat on Sunday.

Jokowi began his exercise on Sunday 7:30 a.m. local time.

"This morning, I jogged together with the TNI Commander and the National Police Chief. Jogging can keep us healthy. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic being healthy is necessary," he said.

Jokowi and the two five-star generals also walked around the Bogor Botanical Garden, which is located next to the presidential palace. They were wearing face masks and maintained physical distance from each other.

From the Palace gate, they went to the Mexican Park located inside the Bogor Botanical Garden. The park has a collection of dry climate plant species that is arranged to resemble its natural habitat.

From the Mexico Park, they walked towards the Red Bridge and then to the White Bridge, which covers a distance of 3.5 kilometers.

After exercising for about 30 minutes, the President, the TNI Commander, and the National Police Chief returned to the Bogor Presidential Palace main building. and had tea at the palace's veranda. (ANTARA)

New confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia stood at 672, while those recovering from the disease reached 591 on Sunday, Achmad Yurianto, the government's spokesman for COVID response, stated.

"The country's total count of confirmed cases has until now reached 31,186, while the total number of those recovering (from the disease) touched 10,498," Yurianto remarked at a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday.

The spokesman noted that Jakarta had emerged as the hotbed for COVID-19, with 163 cases, followed by 113 cases in East Java, 64 cases in South Sulawesi, 59 cases in Papua, and 51 cases in Central Java.

On the other hand, Jakarta and East Java also registered the highest number of recoveries, reaching 294 and 48 respectively.

The number of patients recovering from the disease in West Java increased by 99, while the number of new confirmed cases touched 28, he remarked.

Meanwhile, below 10 cases were reported in 21 provinces, while no new cases were found in the eight provinces of Aceh, Bengkulu, Jambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Riau, and East Nusa Tenggara.

"The number of deaths increased by 50, thereby bringing the death toll to 1,851," Yurianto noted.

Some 11,924 new specimens were examined and verified on Sunday until 12:00 WIB (Western Indonesian Standard Time), thereby bringing the total number of specimens examined, both through molecular rapid tests and PCR, to 405,992 taken from 269,146 people. Of the total figure, 31,186 people had tested positive, while the test results came negative for 237,960 individuals.

"The number of people under monitoring (ODP) reached 40,370, while those under surveillance (PDP) stood at 14,197," he stated.

Yurianto appealed to Indonesians to abide by the stringent health protocols applied by the government while transitioning to the new normal. (ANTARA)