VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A logo is pictured outside a building of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland during an executive board meeting on an update on the COVID-19 outbreak, Apr 6, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse) - 

The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting COVID-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads, but WHO-approved vaccines remain effective, the World Health Organization said on Friday (Jul 30).

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant of the coronavirus as being as transmissible as chickenpox and cautioned it could cause severe disease, the Washington Post said, citing an internal CDC document.

"Hard-won gains are in jeopardy or being lost, and health systems in many countries are being overwhelmed," Tedros told a news conference.

The Delta variant has been detected in 132 countries, becoming the dominant global strain, according to the WHO.

"The vaccines that are currently approved by the WHO all provide significant protection against severe disease and hospitalisation from all the variants, including the Delta variant," said WHO's top emergency expert, Mike Ryan.

"We are fighting the same virus but a virus that has become faster and better adapted to transmitting amongst us humans, that's the change," he said.

Maria van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, said the Delta variant was the most easily spread so far, about 50 per cent more transmissible than ancestral strains of SARS-CoV-2 that first emerged in China in late 2019.

Japan said on Friday it would expand states of emergency to three prefectures near Olympic host city Tokyo and the western prefecture of Osaka, as COVID-19 cases spike in the capital and around the country, overshadowing the Summer Games.

Ryan noted that Tokyo had recorded more than 3,000 cases in the past 24 hours, among some 10,000 new infections in Japan.

"The Olympics is a part of that overall context and the risk management that is place around the Olympics is extremely comprehensive," he said//CNA

Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin at an online talkshow 'Protect Children From Drug Abuse' in Jakarta on Friday (July 30, 2021). (ANTARA/Hreeloita Dharma Shanti) - 

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has asked teenagers to use the internet wisely to combat the trafficking and abuse of drugs.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, we still need to pay attention to the use of drugs among children and adolescents," he said while joining an online talk show Protect Children from Drug Abuse from here on Friday.

The use of technology amid the pandemic can affect children's development, he said. He argued that technology, especially the internet, can have a positive and negative impact on teenagers, especially when it comes to social media interactions.

"Teenagers do not only compete in offline media, but also in online, where there is no distance and time limit. They can imitate and adopt habits, characters, trends, and ideologies through the media," he noted.

Such wide disclosure of information can pose a considerable danger if adolescents are not ready for the changes and technological developments, including the influence of technology in the abuse of drugs, psychotropic substances, and other addictive substances, Sadikin said.

Meanwhile, psychiatrist from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FKUI), Dr. Kristiana Siste Kurniasanti, said there are three factors that can lead to drug addiction. The first is the agent or the object itself, for example, the drugs or the internet, she stated.

"For example, addiction to playing the internet, or more specifically, like playing online games and (using) social media," Kurniasanti added.

The second is the individual or the subject, and the third factor is the environment. "So, it has a triangular shape like this, all three have their respective roles," said Kurniasanti.

Another factor that can lead people to addiction is access, she pointed out. Social media makes it easier for someone to abuse drugs, she said.

Meanwhile, economic status, the relationship between parents and children, peer pressure, advertisements, and government regulations are also factors that can contribute to drug abuse, she added//ANT

Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono reviews a vaccination  drive at a fishery port in Jembrana district, Bali on Friday (July 30, 2021). (Antaranews Bali/Gembong Ismadi/2021) - 

As many as 20,146,421 Indonesians have received their second COVID-19 vaccine dose as of 12 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesia Time) on Friday, according to the COVID-19 Response Task Force.

The number of fully vaccinated Indonesians rose by 477,199 on Friday (July 30, 2021) compared to the day before, it informed.

Meanwhile, the number of Indonesians receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine jab increased by 516,051 to reach 45,805,993.

Overall, Indonesia is seeking to vaccinate 208,265,720 citizens to build herd immunity against the coronavirus under the nationwide vaccination drive, which was rolled out on January 13, 2021. President Joko Widodo was the nation's first COVID-19 vaccine recipient.

Earlier, vaccinologist and internist Dirga Sakti Rambe had said the government needs to increase vaccine coverage instead of administering the third COVID-19 dose to the general public.

"It will be nothing for us to get 10 shots of vaccine if people around us have not been vaccinated. So, it would be better to focus on expanding the vaccination outreach rather than giving the third, fourth, (etc.) hots to the same people," he remarked.

He said the third or booster shot has so far been given only to healthcare workers in Indonesia since they are in the frontlines of the COVID-19 fight.

Although antibodies will decline six months after receiving the second COVID-19 shot, the protection of vaccinated people against the infection will not be reduced, he added//ANT

State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir. (ANTARA PHOTO/Dhemas Reviyanto/NZ/aa/uyu) - 

State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir has said SOEs’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities would be focused on three sectors – health, education, and green environment.

"We (SOEs) have to devote our CSR to the right sectors. Formerly, we have done many CSR projects in various aspects. From now on, we will refocus our CSR activities to health, education, and green environment sectors as they have become the most crucial ones,” he informed here on Friday.

Prior to making the statement, the minister emphasized that he will continue to maximize the role of SOEs in assisting the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia. The efforts are aimed at easing the burden on hospitals and saving more human lives, he said.

Hence, he urged SOEs to become part of Indonesia’s integrated health service ecosystem.

"We cannot become secluded. We have to collaborate with various parties -- including the private ones -- to pull through this global pandemic,” he stressed.

Noting social projects conducted by SOEs amid the pandemic, he pointed out SOEs' assistance to the Public Work and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry in preparing the Kemayoran Athletes Village COVID-19 Emergency Hospital when the pandemic emerged in Indonesia last year.

The SOEs have also constructed COVID-19 modular hospitals and Hajj Dormitory COVID-19 Emergency Hospitals in Jakarta and Lampung amid a continued rise in the national bed occupancy rate, he said.

Furthermore, SOEs have continued to mobilize their resources to meet the high demand for oxygen for COVID-19 patients, the minister added.

"SOEs have also supported the government to disburse free of cost medicines along with the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), National Police (Polri) as well as community health centers (Puskesmas)," he added//ANT