VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A worker monitors traffic around a new extension of the National Research Council of Canada building under construction, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Feb 4, 2021. (Photo :REUTERS/Christinne Muschi) - 

Healthcare unions are opposing Quebec's decision to allow some asymptomatic workers infected with COVID-19 to stay on the job, even as an infectious disease specialist warned more Canadian provinces may be forced into similar steps as Omicron surges.

Quebec said on Tuesday it had no choice but to allow some essential healthcare staff to continue working instead of isolating at home after testing positive, to prevent staff shortages from crippling healthcare services.

A number of unions said they are worried the decision will put healthcare networks under further strain, and workers and patients at risk.

"The network is not prepared to face the risks of the government's decision to bring asymptomatic infected staff back to work. Right now, we are not even able to test staff in their workplace," said Réjean Leclerc, president of the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux, which represents 120,000 public and private sector healthcare workers in Quebec.

Leclerc called for better testing for workers and improved ventilation in hospitals.

"We cannot subscribe to this decision which endangers the health and safety not only of our members, but above all of the vulnerable people to whom they must provide essential care and services," the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services said in a social media post.

The union represents 60,000 workers in public health and social services institutions across Quebec.

Provinces across Canada, including heavily populated Quebec and Ontario, are reporting new daily COVID-19 case records as the highly infectious Omicron variant takes hold, forcing ten of thousands of people into isolation.

Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto, said on Wednesday other provinces were likely discussing similar measures to help tackle staffing shortages in hospitals.

"Every jurisdiction in the northern hemisphere is dealing with the same problem. The clear reality is we will not be able to function by keeping everyone isolated for 10 days," he said.

Morris said he was not aware of other jurisdictions allowing infected healthcare staff to work, but noted that Norway had already shortened its isolation period during a wave of the Delta variant earlier this winter

US health authorities on Monday also shortened the recommended isolation time for Americans with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 to five days from the previous guidance of 10 days//ANT

FILE PHOTO: An ambulance is parked on a main street as medics make public announcement from it to convince people to get vaccinated amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Diyarbakir, Turkey July 27, 2021. Picture taken July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar

Turkey logged 36,684 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest number of daily infections since Apr 29, health ministry data showed, as Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged citizens to get booster vaccinations.

Turkey also recorded 142 deaths from the virus, according to the data. Daily deaths have hovered just below 200 in recent weeks, despite cases falling to around 20,000 in that period. Turkey's daily cases have risen in recent days due to the spread of the Omicron variant//CNA

Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian at the 2021 Innovative Government Award event in Jakarta on December 29, 2021. (ANTARA/HO-Home Affairs Ministry) - 

Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian, here on Wednesday, spoke of his intent to deploy several teams to monitor local governments that were inaccessible and considered less innovative.

Karnavian deemed this step as important after reviewing the regional innovation index assessment results.

"I will send several teams comprising representatives from the Home Affairs Ministry’s Directorate General of Regional Autonomy, Research and Development Agency (BPP), and Inspectorate General," he noted during the 2021 Innovative Government Award (IGA).

The event was held both online and offline at the Sasana Bhakti Praja Building at the ministry’s headquarters, Jakarta.

The team will identify problems faced by each region and find solutions to them.

"We will establish several teams according to the number of the regions, as we want to understand the problems,” the minister affirmed.

Karnavian emphasized that the keys to the success of regional autonomy are leadership as well as the ability of regional heads to create breakthroughs and innovations for the welfare of the community.

Hence, he expressed concern over regions that were less innovative or could not be assessed.

At the 2021 IGA event, it was mentioned that 166 local governments were considered less innovative, while 23 other regions were viewed as being inaccessible, though the figure had decreased, reaching 50 regions in 2020.

Hence, Karnavian urged regional heads to continue to innovate and to explore the region’s potentials to boost the people’s prosperity.

Meanwhile, the regional innovation index had been validated by the ministry’s BPP.

In addition, the quality of the index has been assured by the Special Working Unit for Community Services (UKKPPM) on Scientific Modeling, Application, Research, and Training for City-Centered Innovation and Technology (SMART CITY) of the University of Indonesia//ANT

A webinar on the 2021 economic reflection in Jakarta on Wednesday (December 29, 2021). ANTARA/Sanya Dinda/KT - 

The government should create a policy strategy driven by the COVID-19 pandemic situation to bolster digitalization that is equitable for all strata of society, according to an economist.

"There is a need for a change in mindset and policy strategies in internet penetration that is followed with an economic 'cake' that is larger for all groups of society. Hence, the per capita income (PCI) increases, but the gap does not rise," Indonesian Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) economist Hendri Saparini stated at the webinar on 2021 economic reflection here on Wednesday.

Saparini highlighted that in the finance sector, before the popularity of peer-to-peer lending financial technology (fintech) or online lending, the public had recognized Microfinance Institutions (MFI).

With the existence of online lending, the MFIs could disappear, as they could not compete with the higher cost of funds, according to Saparini.

"Hence, what needs to be prepared is how the government can present positive aspects and offer other benefits from digitalization," he explained.

Saparini affirmed that the role of the authority regulating or managing MFIs and online lenders should be asserted, especially for those operating at the level of districts and cities.

Apart from fintech, the government must monitor the increase in the use of marketplace and e-commerce, he added.

Saparini deems it necessary since, nowadays, most people only use e-commerce services to sell products, but these items are mostly imported.

Hence, he called on the government to create a strategy, such as a more comprehensive policy, so that the increasing use of e-commerce can also boost recovery of the manufacturing industry structure.

According to Saparini, the fact that digitalization of the trade sector eases the benefits in various sectors of products, such as raw materials, should be viewed as opportunities through strategic policies//ANT