A rubber plantation (Dokumentasi Kementerian PUPR)

Indonesia's Public Works and Public Housing Ministry plans to purchase 10,000 tons of rubber from farmers for use in rubberized asphalt amid the new coronavirus pandemic impacting absorption of the rubber commodity by the market.

"The purchase of this rubberized asphalt is part of the ministry's mitigation efforts to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono noted in a press statement that ANTARA received in Jakarta Tuesday.

The farmers' rubber commodity will be purchased by the ministry's National Road Management Agency in several cities, including Medan, Palembang, Padang, Lampung, Banjarmasin, Pontianak, and Balikpapan, he remarked.

The National Road Management Agency in the cities will buy the rubber from members of the Processing and Marketing of Processed Rubber Material Group of Farmers, he stated.

The ministry has frequently used rubberized asphalt for paving roads in various areas, including certain road sections of Ciawi-Sukabumi, Ajibarang-Banyumas-Klampok-Banjarnegara, and Muara Beliti-Musi Rawas-Tebing Tinggi-Lahat.

Hadimuljono revealed that the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry had allocated a budget of Rp100 billion to purchase the 10 thousand tons of rubber for rubberized asphalt.

ANTARA noted that to maintain the purchasing power of members of the low-income community amid this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry will also intensify manpower-intensive infrastructure projects in different parts of Indonesia.

In implementing these labor-intensive infrastructure projects to maintain the purchasing power of people from the low-income group and to reduce unemployment, the social distancing measures will consistently be enacted to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

"The manpower-intensive infrastructure projects are also aimed at boosting economic growth and distributing funds to villages and rural areas," Hadimuljono noted in his recent press statement.

With budget totaling Rp10 trillion, the projects cover seven programs, including the Irrigation System Accelerated Program (P3-TGAI), Socio-Economic Regional Infrastructure Development Program (PISEW), and Reduced, Reused, and Recycled Waste Management Sites (TPS3R), he stated.  

The coronavirus outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 and thereafter spread across the globe, including to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indonesian government officially announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020, and has declared the COVID-19 pandemic as Indonesia's national disaster. (ANTARA)

The Indonesian government on Tuesday urged citizens to consistently practice physical distancing and wear face masks everywhere to break the chain of transmission of the new coronavirus pandemic.

“Even if large-scale social restriction measures are not enforced in an area, the people (residing) there need to avoid crowds, wear face masks, wash hands, and stay at home," the government's COVID-19 task force spokesperson Achmad Yurianto said.

The preventive measures are indispensable for breaking the chain of the COVID-19 outbreak, he told journalists at a virtual press conference in Jakarta.

"We must truly fight against the coronavirus together by preventing ourselves from getting infected and by not letting ourselves transmit the disease to other people and our kins," Yurianto urged.

As of Tuesday, Indonesia has recorded 12,071 confirmed cases, while the number of COVID-19 patients who have been discharged from hospitals after fully recovering from the disease has been registered at 2,197.

The death toll from the coronavirus has reached 972 so far, he added.

The coronavirus disease, which initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, has since spread to at least 202 countries and territories, including Indonesia, with a massive increase in death toll.

The Indonesian government officially announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2 this year. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has weakened the purchasing power of scores of Indonesian families, particularly those who have lost their jobs.

Meanwhile, President Jokowi has highlighted the importance of fostering the spirit of "gotong royong", or mutual cooperation, in responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the government cannot work alone to fight the spread of coronavirus infections.

The central and regional governments nationwide have also been striving persistently to flatten the coronavirus curve by imposing healthcare protocols and social restrictions.

To break the change of transmission, large-scale social restrictions have been applied in several other cities, including Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi.

The central government has also banned homebound travel, locally known as ‘mudik’, during the fasting month of Ramadhan and the Idul Fitri holiday season. (ANTARA)

Army personnel helps a local resident obtain 1.5 kg of free rice in Jakarta on April 27, 2020. (ANTARA FOTO)

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Indonesian Military (TNI) have distributed 155 tons of rice through automated dispensing machines to people severely affected by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a government official said.

"We are working with the TNI to distribute free rice through automated dispensing machines set up in 10 compounds of district military commands in Greater Jakarta areas," Gatut Sumbogodjati, a top official with the Agriculture Ministry, said in a press statement that ANTARA received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Rice is being provided through the automated dispensing machines since the first day of Ramadhan and the provision will continue during the holy fasting month, he informed.

The free rice distribution through the machines is part of the Indonesian Government’s efforts to ensure food security for community members amid the ongoing pandemic that has significantly cut incomes.

Automated dispensing machines providing free rice for coronavirus-affected people have been set up in 10 compounds of the district military commands in Central Jakarta, North Jakarta, East Jakarta, South Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok, Bogor City, and Bogor District.

Thanks to the automated dispensing machines, about 1,000 eligible families have been able to avail of the free rice program. Each of the eligible recipients can take 1.5 kg of rice per day.

Representatives from the eligible families should follow COVID-19 protocols, such as practicing physical distancing, when taking their daily rice quota from the machines, Gatut Sumbogodjati said.

The coronavirus disease, which initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, has since spread to at least 202 countries and territories, including Indonesia, with a massive spurt in death toll.

The Indonesian government officially announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2 this year. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has weakened the purchasing power of scores of Indonesian families, particularly those who have lost their jobs.

President Joko Widodo has highlighted the importance of fostering the spirit of "gotong royong", or mutual cooperation, in responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the government cannot work alone to fight the spread of coronavirus infections.

"The entire nation's participation is indispensable," President Jokowi declared in a video statement from the Bogor Presidential Palace recently.

“The caring-and-sharing movement must be made public. This is not aimed at showing off, but at keeping hope alive, and inspiring others to do the same good deeds,” he pointed out. (ANTARA)