VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

US health authorities are now urging Americans to avoid cruising, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. (Photo: GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Joe Raedle) - 

US health authorities on Thursday (Dec 30) urged Americans to avoid cruise travel even if they are vaccinated, citing the surge in COVID-19 cases spurred by the Omicron variant.

"Avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status," said a posting on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website that upgraded the travel notice on cruising to Level 4, the highest on its COVID-19 risk scale.

"Even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants," the notice said.

Between Dec 15 and 29, there were 5,013 COVID-19 cases in US waters reported to the CDC, 31 times the level in the prior two weeks, according to an email from a CDC spokesperson.

The agency recommends mitigation steps that include getting vaccinated and boosted, wearing a mask in indoor settings and taking a test before gathering.

"The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose," the CDC said.

The surge in fresh cases linked to the highly-transmissible Omicron variant has raised fresh challenges for the cruise industry, which resumed service in the United States this summer after being essentially dormant for more than a year.

On Thursday, Royal Caribbean modified or cancelled 16 destinations out of 331 due to the uptick in COVID-19 cases. Shares of Royal Caribbean dipped 0.2 per cent in afternoon trading.

Shares of Carnival fell 0.6 per cent in early afternoon trading, while Norwegian Cruise Line dropped 1.5 per cent//CNA

People leave a train at the Victoria tube station amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, on Jan 12, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls) - 

A British rail operator has been forced to suspend all direct services to the busy London Victoria train station until Jan 10 after staff fell ill with COVID-19 and others had to isolate.

Southern Rail said on Twitter that due to coronavirus isolation and sickness, there would be no direct services to or from London Victoria, disrupting commuter routes from south London and lines that run to the south of the country.

Britain is undergoing another heavy wave of the coronavirus pandemic driven by the Omicron variant, with a record 183,037 daily cases reported on Wednesday. Office workers have been asked to work from home where they can to reduce transmission.

While the government has said that the Omicron variant appears to be milder than others, it is highly transmissible and businesses across the country have been hit by staff shortages.

In the United States airlines were forced to cancel thousands of flights over Christmas as COVID-19 reduced the number of crews that were available//CNA

National Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency's deputy for construction, operation, and preservation, Tris Raditian (second from left), and deputy for education and socialization, participation and partnership, Myrna A. Safitri (third from right), at the 'Year-End Reflection' event in Jakarta on Thursday (December 30, 2021). (ANTARA/Prisca Triferna/uyu) - 

The National Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) has said it will continue to educate and prepare the surrounding communities living around restoration areas to overcome people’s rejection of the restoration program.

"The problem arises since the surrounding people have used the peatland for cultivation. Thus, sometimes they reject restoration activities," BRGM’s deputy for construction, operation, and preservation, Tris Raditian, said at the 'BRGM Year-End Reflection' event here on Thursday.

Thus, the agency’s attempts for blocking water canals from peatlands are often met with protests since the people use them to drain the land they intend to cultivate, he added.

The canals are also utilized as public or crop transportation routes, he noted.

Hence, the BRGM’s deputy for education and socialization, participation and partnership, Myrna A. Safitri, said the agency has continued to carry out socialization, education, and community development to support the restoration program.

She said she believes that peatland restoration and mangrove rehabilitation attempts cannot be separated from the community’s interests. Thus, the attempts must be related to village development, she added.

"Hence, the Independent Village Cares for Peatland and Independent Village Cares for Mangroves programs have become the focus of our work,” she remarked.

The two programs aim to prepare the community for peatland restoration by educating them on the importance of the ecosystem, strengthening village institutions, and integrating the program with the village development plan for the sustainability of the restoration and rehabilitation attempts, she informed.

During 2017–2020, 640 Caring Villages for Peatland were established, covering an area of 7.4 million hectares, she said.

Meanwhile, in 2021, the new Independent Village Cares for Peatland program has been implemented in 111 villages, she added.

Some of the villages are new, but there are also some villages that were involved in the previous Caring Village for Peatland program, she said.

The Independent Village Cares for Mangroves program was first introduced in 2021, she said. A total of 220 villages are involved in the program in nine provinces in BRGM's priority work areas, she added//ANT

A 7.3-magnitude quake hit Maluku Barat Daya district on Thursday (December 30, 2021) - 

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) recorded 13 aftershocks after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake rattled Maluku Barat Daya district, Maluku province, on Thursday.

"The result of BMKG's monitoring showed 13 aftershocks, with the largest magnitude recorded at 7.3 and the smallest magnitude at 4.1," chief of the BMKG Station in Ambon, Herlambang Hudha, informed on Thursday.

The epicenter of the 7.3-magnitude earthquake was located in the sea, 132 kilometers east of Takur city, Maluku Barat Daya district, at a depth of 183 kilometers, Hudha said.

Earlier, BMKG's earthquake and tsunami mitigation coordinator, Daryono, had informed in a press statement that the tremor had been felt in Tiakur at V-VI, Tepa at IV-V, Saumlaki at IV, Tual, Kupang, Alor, Rote, Malaka, Atambua, and Sumba at III-IV on the modified Mercalli intensity scale (MMI).

The quake was felt as far as Sorong city, West Papua, he added.

He urged local residents to remain calm and not be easily influenced by rumors.

He also asked residents to avoid buildings damaged by the quake and make sure that their homes had not suffered any damage before returning home//ANT