VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

National police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, accompanied by representatives from TNI and Kadin, flags off 34 mobile vaccination buses on Saturday (August 21, 2021). (ANTARA/HO-Divisi Humas Polri) - 

National police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo on Saturday dispatched 34 mobile vaccination buses to accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations, particularly in outlying communities in Jakarta's suburbs.

"These buses will later be used to provide vaccination services for people in areas that are not covered by centralized mass vaccinations. This is a form of service to reach the lower classes of the society," he said at the JCC Building here on Saturday.

The 34 mobile vaccination buses have been deployed to support achieving herd immunity to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

The dispatch of the mobile vaccination buses is the result of a collaboration between the National Defense Forces (TNI), the National Police (Polri), and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), he informed.

"Later on, the buses will target residents directly, especially in unreachable residential locations," he said.

The police chief expressed the hope that with the rollout of the mobile vaccination buses, the target set by President Joko Widodo to achieve herd immunity against the coronavirus can be realized without delay.

Prabowo said he is optimistic that herd immunity would be achieved by involving all elements of the society to participate in the vaccination program so that Indonesia can adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is predicted to become endemic.

"By involving all parties, the target can be achieved quickly like what we expected," he remarked.

According to Prabowo, the sooner herd immunity is realized, community activities, especially in the economic sector, can return to normal.

Therefore, he expressed appreciation for the good intention of the Kadin that has helped accelerate mass vaccinations.

In addition to dispatching the mobile vaccination buses, Prabowo also reviewed mass vaccinations organized by Kadin and TNI-Polri at the JCC Building in Central Jakarta on Saturday//ANT

Communication Ministry shares tips on filtering hoaxes - 

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) has shared a number of tips for the public to filter and prevent the spread of hoaxes and disinformation in the digital space.

One trick to discern the validity of any information is to determine whether it is too good to be true or too bad to be true, the ministry's public information and communication director general, Usman Kansong, said in a press statement issued here on Saturday.

"That is what we need to be aware of. There are plenty of examples, like every time someone donates a large amount of aid, we need to be suspicious whether it is too good to be true," he explained.

While the suspicion may not yet be proven, at the very least, our internal alarm will be triggered, he said.

He also outlined another way to identify hoaxes.

"If there is a word, 'spread it', that is what we need to be wary of. Especially if it's written in all capital, that is what we need to be suspicious of. Do not just share without filtering it," he advised.

The director general also asked citizens to research the validity of any information through trusted official media or internet search engines.

"If nobody is reporting it, then it is not true. But we still need to check, recheck, and cross-check it with the mainstream media," he said.

According to Kansong, orchestration and single narratives have been optimized to prevent the spread of hoaxes and misleading information in the public.

However, citizens need to be taught the skill to be able to selectively filter information received through digital platforms, he said//ANT

Paralympics officials insist the reach of the event will be "incredible". (Photo: AFP) - 

The Tokyo Paralympics open on Tuesday (Aug 24) after a year-long pandemic delay and with the coronavirus continuing to cast a long shadow as Japan battles a record surge in cases.

As at the Olympics, the event will be marked by strict virus rules, with almost all spectators banned and tough restrictions on athletes and other participants.

While a swell of domestic support emerged during the Olympics after months of negative polls, there is deep concern in Japan as the Paralympics approach with the country going through a fifth virus wave.

More than 25,000 new cases were recorded on Thursday, and medics across the country have warned hospitals are at breaking point with serious cases also at record highs.

It is a challenging environment for the most important sports event for disabled athletes, and International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons has warned participants against complacency.

Despite the backdrop, IPC officials insist the reach of the event will be "incredible".

"Of course the fact that we will not have spectators at the venues is a challenge," Parsons told AFP in an interview.

"But we believe we will reach more than 4 billion people through broadcasting."

Local officials say the Games can be held safely, with athletes and other participants subject to the same anti-infection rules that applied to the Olympics.

Competitors can only enter the Paralympic Village shortly before their event and must leave within 48 hours of the end of their competition.

They will be tested daily and limited to moving between training venues, competition sites and the Village.

The measures are intended to prevent the Games from becoming a superspreader event - and officials say the Olympics proved the restrictions work.

There were 552 positive cases linked to the Olympics reported from Jul 1 until Sunday, the majority among Japan residents employed by the Games or working as contractors.

So far, 138 cases related to the Paralympics have been confirmed, also mostly among Japan-based Olympic officials, though at least four athletes have also tested positive.

But Olympic officials say there is no evidence of infection spreading from the Games to the rest of Japan, where case numbers were already on the rise.

Still organisers acknowledge the worsening environment.

"The infection situation today is different to how it was before the Olympics. It has deteriorated," said Tokyo 2020 official Hidemasa Nakamura on Friday.

"And the local medical system is also in a very tight situation."

The virus surge has caused tensions, with some local regions and schools cancelling planned trips to Games events despite support for the programme from Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

The mood among Paralympians remains buoyant though, after the uncertainties of the year-long delay//CNA

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison looks on during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in front of the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 15, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol - 

Australia will stick to its lockdown strategy against the coronavirus until at least 70 per cent of its population is fully vaccinated, but after that it will have to start living with the virus, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday (Aug 22).

The country set a record with 914 infections, its highest daily figure, as the southern and eastern states of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory remain under a strict lockdown.

"You can't live with lockdowns forever and at some point, you need to make that gear change, and that is done at 70 per cent," Morrison said in a television interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corp's Insider program.

Lockdowns are a key element of the federal government's strategy to rein in outbreaks until the 70 per cent level is reached, with borders being re-opened gradually when the figure climbs to 80 per cent.

But in a departure from the zero-COVID strategy adopted since the pandemic began, Morrison said it was highly unlikely for Australia to reach zero cases before curbs can be eased.

"Lockdowns are not a sustainable way to deal with the virus and that's why we have to get to the 70 per cent and 80 per cent marks, so we can start living with the virus," he added.

About 60 per cent of the population of 25 million is now under lockdown. Stay-at-home orders, often lasting for months, have taxed the patience of many.

Police in the most populous state of New South Wales said they handed out 940 fines in the past 24 hours for breaches of public health orders, while media said several hundred people gathered to protest Sunday curbs at the Queensland state border.

This follows hundreds of arrests made by police on Saturday during anti-lockdown demonstrations in Sydney and Melbourne, the capitals of the two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, which are under a strict lockdown.

New South Wales saw 830 new infections on Sunday, despite stepped-up efforts, and the Australian Capital Territory, home to the capital, Canberra, had 19. Nationwide, the tally of active cases stands at nearly 12,000.

The south-eastern state of Victoria, in its sixth lockdown since the start of the pandemic, recorded 65 locally acquired cases on Sunday.

"We are throwing everything at this," said Martin Foley, the state's health minister.

Just about 30 per cent of Australians older than 16 have been fully vaccinated, health ministry data showed on Saturday. This is mainly because the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is in short supply and the AstraZeneca vaccine provokes public unease.

Despite a third wave of infections from the Delta variant, Australia's COVID-19 numbers are relatively low, with just under 44,000 cases and 981 deaths//CNA