VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia on Friday showed its support for the World Health Organization's endeavors to combat the novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, by joining an international clinical trial for finding an effective treatment for the virus.

Indonesia's participation in the WHO ‘Solidarity' clinical trial which would involve testing medicines on COVID-19 patients in the country indicates its support for the international body, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during a virtual press conference here on Friday.

Marsudi said the WHO is building international cooperation for sharing information and charting preventive and emergency response measures in the health sector. The clinical trial would involve at least 900 COVID-19 patients in 90 countries.

At the press conference, the Foreign Minister also highlighted the importance of supporting the spirit of multilateralism for safeguarding the common interest of all nations across the world amid concerns over the coronavirus.

"Indonesia has kept voicing the spirit of solidarity and global partnership in fighting COVID-19 at various international forums," she pointed out.

According to the official WHO website, the ‘Solidarity’ trial would compare four treatment options against the standard of care to assess their relative effectiveness against COVID-19.
"By enrolling patients in multiple countries, the ‘Solidarity’ trial aims to rapidly discover whether any of the drugs slow disease progression or improve survival. Other drugs can be added based on emerging evidence,” the WHO stated.

Until there is sufficient evidence, the WHO cautioned physicians and medical associations against recommending or administering these unproven treatments to patients with COVID-19, or people self-medicating with them.

The WHO also expressed concern over "reports of individuals self-medicating with chloroquine and causing themselves serious harm."

Considering the fact that COVID-19, which initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, has spread to all 34 provinces of Indonesia, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) declared the coronavirus outbreak a national disaster.

As of 12 a.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) Friday, Indonesia reported 5,923 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the number of deaths reaching 520. As many as 607 patients were discharged from hospitals after fully recovering from the infection. (ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has forecast the tourism industry to boom in 2021 after the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak ends.

Jokowi voiced his optimism while chairing a virtual limited meeting of cabinet ministers held to discuss efforts to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the tourism and creative economy sectors from the Merdeka Palace here on Thursday.

"I believe this is only until the end of the year. However, there will be a boom in the tourism sector next year," President Jokowi remarked.

The head of state believes that next year, all would be eager to head outdoors and enjoy the scenery after being compelled to stay at home owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hence, the president has called on every stakeholder in the tourism industry to remain upbeat.
"That optimism must continue to be raised, lest we get trapped in the wave of pessimism owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Otherwise, we would fail to properly capitalize on the boom that might emerge after the COVID-19 pandemic is overcome," he emphasized. (Antara)

The head of state called on the tourism ministry and other stakeholders to make preparations to reap benefits from the tourism boom next year.

Jokowi has also called for economic stimulus to be offered to businesses in the tourism sector and ensure it runs well, so that the tourism industry would survive and not conduct massive layoffs.(Antara)

Domestic businesses will soon start producing 16 thousand pieces of personal protective equipment, or PPEs, daily, and the gear would meet the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the Industry Minister.

The Industry Ministry, through its textile division, is cooperating with the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling, said Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita during a virtual press conference held on Wednesday after a limited meeting in Jakarta. The cooperation will be expanded to the Indonesian Textile Association, he informed.

“So, we have been able to produce PPEs according to WHO standards. In the near future, we will produce 16 thousand (PPEs) per day, " he said after a limited meeting led by President Joko Widodo, held via video conferencing, on optimizing the domestic industry for handling the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Personal protective equipment is the main protection for frontline medical workers at the vanguard of the battle against COVID-19. PPEs are the main requirement for paramedics.

Indonesia had experienced a shortage of PPE stockpiles, which had an adverse effect on the safety of doctors and medical personnel.

When the COVID-19 virus began to spread, many medical personnel and doctors were using unsuitable and inadequate protective gear such as disposable raincoats due to the shortage of PPEs.

While opening the limited meeting, the President said the availability of medical devices, medicines, and pharmaceutical raw materials must be ensured for now and for some time in the future. This also pertains to the availability of PPEs for doctors and medical personnel, he said.

Currently, 213 countries across the world have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries are in urgent need of medical devices and pharmaceutical goods.

President Jokowi asked ministers and heads of institutions to reevaluate all the potential resources of the domestic industry, such as the pharmaceutical raw material industry, the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) industry, masks, and ventilators.

"We must look back at all the potential resources that we have in our country, especially our domestic industry," Jokowi said.

The President also reiterated that exports of goods related to handling COVID-19 must be allowed selectively and domestic needs prioritized. In addition, the import of raw materials for making medical devices and pharmaceutical goods to handle COVID-19 must be facilitated, he added. (Antara)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which has spread to 34 provinces and killed at least 399 people in Indonesia, a national disaster. President Jokowi has accorded national disaster status to the ongoing pandemic in a letter (number 12/2020) dated on 13 April, 2020, which highlights several points, including the appointment of head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, Doni Monardo, to lead the COVID-19 task force. The Task Force for the Accelerated Handling of COVID-19 will work on mitigating the impact of the pandemic through coordinated effort with the concerned ministries, government agencies, and regional administrations. The letter has also named governors, district heads, and city mayors as the heads of the COVID-19 task forces in their respective regions. While drawing up regional policies, they will be required to refer to the policies formulated by the central government. The national disaster status implies that in the phase of emergency response, the BNPB will use the budget allocated to it by the government. As of Monday, Indonesia has reported 4,557 confirmed cases. While the death toll from the contagion has reached 399, a total of 380 patients have completely recovered from the infection and discharged from hospital. Confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported across all 34 provinces of Indonesia, with Jakarta serving as the main hotspot of the pandemic, which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of December, 2019 and then spread to other countries and territories all over the world. (ant)