VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

People queue outside a vaccination centre as the spread of COVID-19 continues in Frankfurt, Germany, Nov 22, 2021. (File photo: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach) - 

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has probably arrived in Germany, a minister in the western state of Hesse said on Saturday (Nov 27) after mutations were found in a passenger arriving from South Africa.

"Last night several Omicron-typical mutations were found in a traveller returning from South Africa," tweeted Kai Klose, social affairs minister in Hesse, home to Frankfurt airport, Germany's biggest hub and one of Europe's busiest airports.

He added that a full sequencing of the variant was being carried out and that the person was isolating, and he urged anyone who had travelled from South Africa in the last few weeks to limit contacts and get tested.

The new variant has been found at a time when Germany and many other European countries are grappling with a surge in coronavirus cases.

Germany recorded 67,125 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said, and more than 100,000 people have died with COVID-19.

Germany is declaring South Africa a virus-variant area, meaning airlines are allowed to fly only Germans to Germany from South Africa, a source told Reuters on Friday. Even those who are vaccinated must spend 14 days in quarantine.

Earlier, Dutch health officials said they had detected 61 COVID-19 cases among people who flew from South Africa on Friday and are trying to establish whether any were infected with the Omicron variant//CNA

People line up to get on an overseas flight at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa on Nov 26, 2021. (File photo: AP/Jerome Delay) - 

Australia and several other countries joined nations imposing restrictions on travel from southern Africa on Saturday (Nov 27) after the discovery of a new coronavirus variant called Omicron sparked global concern and triggered a market sell-off.

Meanwhile, authorities in Amsterdam said that 61 out of around 600 people who arrived in the Dutch city on two flights from South Africa on Friday had tested positive for coronavirus. Health authorities were carrying out further tests to see if those cases involved the new variant.

Omicron, dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization, is potentially more contagious than previous variants of the disease.

It was first discovered in South Africa and has since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong. A minister in the German state of Hesse said on Saturday that the variant had very probably arrived in Germany, in a traveller returning from South Africa.

Financial markets plunged on Friday, especially stocks of airlines and others in the travel sector, as investors worried the variant could cause another surge in the pandemic and stall a global recovery. Oil prices tumbled by about US$10 a barrel.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 2.5 per cent, its worst day since late October 2020, and European stocks had their worst day in 17 months.

It could take weeks for scientists to fully understand the variant's mutations and whether existing vaccines and treatments are effective against it. Omicron is the fifth variant of concern designated by the WHO.

Although epidemiologists say travel curbs may be too late to stop Omicron from circulating globally, a string of countries including the United States, Brazil, Canada and European Union nations announced travel bans or restrictions from southern Africa on Friday.

On Saturday, Australia said it would ban non-citizens who have been in nine southern African countries from entering and will require supervised 14-day quarantines for Australian citizens and their dependents returning from there.

Japan said it would extend its tightened border controls to three more African countries after imposing curbs on travel from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Lesotho on Friday.

Sri Lanka, Thailand and Oman also announced travel curbs on southern African nations.

Omicron has emerged as many countries in Europe are already battling a surge in COVID-19 infections, and some have re-introduced restrictions on social activity to try to stop the spread.

In Britain, the main opposition Labour Party called on Saturday for a faster booster vaccination programme, saying the gap between the second dose of a vaccination and the booster jab should be cut from six to five months.

"This new variant is a wake-up call," said Labour's junior health spokesman Alex Norris. "The pandemic is not over. We need to urgently bolster our defences to keep the virus at bay."//CNA

Residents undergo a medical check-up before getting vaccinated in Pancoran, South Jakarta. (ANTARA/Sihol Hasugian) - 

Indonesia is now among the five countries with the largest decline in COVID-19 cases, Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate has said.

“Indonesia is one of the five countries that have managed to significantly lower COVID-19 cases and maintain it (the status) for quite a long time. We are now on par with four other countries, India, the Philippines, Iran, and Japan,” he said in a press statement that ANTARA quoted on Sunday.

The minister said he hopes the public will stay disciplined in following health protocols and complying with the regulation concerning the Christmas and New Year celebrations in order to curb COVID-19 cases.

Indonesia has been able to bring down COVID-19 cases by up to 99.3 percent from the peak and maintain the trend for 130 days, he claimed.

As of November 27, 2021, the number of active cases in Indonesia stands at 2.564, well below the lowest number before the COVID-19 spiked at 26,126, he informed.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Indonesia as a green country with a low transmission rate of below 2 percent,” he noted.

Of course, this is a positive achievement for Indonesia and is the result of the cooperation and hard work of all parties for breaking the COVID-19 transmission chain, he remarked.

“The effort of any individual, however small, has contributed to lowering cases and preventing transmission,” he added.

The successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that the government is on the right track, he said//ANT

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi holding a virtual press briefing following the 13th ASEM. (ANTARA/HO-Lukas/Biro Pers Sekretariat Presiden RI) - 

The 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) held on November 25–26, 2021 has yielded three outcome documents, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said.

The first document is the chair’s statement, which contains a commitment to strengthen Asia-Europe cooperation, among others, in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), women’s empowerment, connectivity, and digital economy, the minister informed in a virtual press briefing following the 13th ASEM, accessed from here on Friday night.

The second document is 'Phnom Penh’s Statement on Post-COVID-19 Socio-economic Recovery: The Way Forward on ASEM Connectivity', she added.

The document contains matters related to post-pandemic recovery cooperation, including strengthening health resilience and the global economy, Marsudi said.

The third document is 'The Way Forward on ASEM Connectivity', which contains efforts to discuss technical rules for strengthening connectivity among ASEM members, the minister added.

During the two-day meeting, ASEM leaders highlighted the significance of multilateralism in settling global issues, international development cooperation for achieving the target of SDGs and better recovery from the pandemic, and a strong global health system to anticipate the potential for other pandemics.

The 13th ASEM brought together leaders of 51 ASEM member states and the president of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the ASEAN Secretary General.

The meeting was held virtually under the chairmanship of Cambodia and was themed "Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth".

ASEM is an international forum that connects Asian and European countries.

ASEM members control 65 percent of the global economy and 55 percent of global trade. Eleven of the 20 G20 members are ASEM members//ANT