VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 A vaccinator prepares COVID-19 vaccine. (ANTARA/HO/Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry/uyu) - 

Forty thousand passengers have been vaccinated against COVID-19 at AP II airport vaccination centers between July 3 and July 22, 2021, state-owned air transport corporation PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) has said.

"Our (AP II) biggest vaccination site is in Soekarno-Hatta Airport. It has served around 26 thousand people since July 3, 2021," PT AP II president director Muhammad Awaluddin informed.

The high demand for vaccinations has created the need for an information technology application for provision of vaccine services, he said. Currently, AP II is conducting a trial to digitize vaccination services, in accordance with Health Minister’s Circular Letter Number 847/2021, he added.

The letter regulates the digital integration of health documents of air transport passengers using PeduliLindungi apps, he said. This is expected to accelerate the administration process at airports and prevent document forgeries, the president director explained.

The online document validation will be conducted by the Health Ministry’s Port Health Office (KKP) as well as airline crews at check-in counters using barcode scanner and/or microsite PeduliLindungi apps, Awaluddin informed.

Furthermore, a real-time monitoring dashboard has been installed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's vaccination facility, which serves 24-hour flights, to show the number of people who have registered, are under observation, and other related information, he said. The system aims to monitor vaccine availability at the KKP, he added.

AP II will keep operating the vaccination centers to help passengers meet the required health protocols -- bringing vaccination certificates to get on board, Awaluddin stated.

The facilities are also expected to accelerate the government’s national vaccination program to create herd immunity against the pandemic, he added.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has lauded the digitalization attempt and encouraged AP II to maintain the application consistently. He also asked the laboratory integrated with the new-all record (NAR) system to upload test results to PeduliLindungi apps regularly.

Collaboration among the Health Ministry, AP II, and Traveloka – an online travel corporation – is crucial to support the national vaccination program, Sadikin said.

The ‘Vaccination in Airports’ program has been organized from July 12-July 25, 2021 for people aged 18 and above as well as the elderly. First COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided free of cost to 14 thousand people under the program, the minister informed.

The vaccination facilities have been fully supported by the provincial government, regional government, National Police (Polri), Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), airlines, as well as other various institutions, he said//ANT

Silver medallist USA's Jay Litherland (left) and gold medallist USA's Chase Kalisz pose with their medals after the final of the men's 400m individual medley swimming event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on Jul 25, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Jonathan Nackstrand) - 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday (Jul 25) that masks are a "must to have" at Tokyo medal ceremonies after swimmers were seen taking off masks on the medal podium and hugging other competitors in violation of COVID-19 rules.

Masks are mandatory across all Olympic venues, both inside and outside for all athletes, staff and media, as part of Games organisers' strict measures to combat the coronavirus.

"It's not a nice to have. It's a must to have," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams, responding to questions about the mask-less swimmers.

American Chase Kalisz took off his mask on the winners' podium after his gold medal performance in the men's 400 metres medley, hugging compatriot and silver medallist Jay Literland, who was also mask-less. Australian Brendon Smith, who took the bronze, also removed his mask.

A little later all 12 athletes from Australia, Canada and the United States on the podium for the women's 4X100 freestyle relay ceremony were mask-less, hugging teammates and smiling to photographers.

"No, there is no relaxation and we would urge and ask everyone to obey the rules," the IOC's Adams said. "It's important for the sports, for everyone involved and for our Japanese friends and it would send a strong message."

"We understand ... there's a lot of excitement and of course when you win a medal, we feel for the athletes," Adams said.

"There are things that unfortunately we have had to make stricter. It is really in our own interest, in the interest of everyone and in the interest of safe and secure Games that we obey these rules."

The Olympic teams of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan had paraded mostly maskless through the National Stadium at Friday's opening ceremony, marking an awkward contrast with other national teams who covered their faces in line with COVID-19 protocols.

Organisers announced another 10 positive COVID-19 cases of Games-related individuals on Sunday, bringing the total to 132 cases since Jul 1.

A woman receives a shot of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Hanoi, Vietnam, Jun 27, 2021. (Photo: AP/Hau Dinh) - 

The United States is considering giving more coronavirus vaccines to Vietnam, its ambassador to the United States said on Sunday (Jul 25), as the Southeast Asian country struggles to control outbreaks of the fast-spreading Delta variant of the virus.

After successfully containing the virus for much of the pandemic, Vietnam has been facing rapid outbreaks of infections, with daily cases repeatedly hitting new highs.

Vietnam took delivery of a shipment of 3 million Moderna doses from the United States on Sunday, taking the amount given by the United States, via the global COVAX vaccine scheme, to 5 million doses.

"The US side has said it is also considering more vaccine donations to Vietnam soon," the ambassador to the United States, Ha Kim Ngoc, said in a speech posted on a government website.

Vietnam is also in talks with the United States on domestic production of mRNA vaccines, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, adding that production could begin in the fourth quarter or early in 2022.

The ministry did not identify the US and Vietnamese companies involved in the talks.

State media reported on Saturday Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup was in talks with San Diego-headquartered Arcturus Therapeutics Holding on mRNA vaccine production.

Clinical trials could begin in Vietnam in August, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported, adding that the firms could produce 100 million to 200 million doses a year under such a deal.

Vingroup and Arcturus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Vietnam kept the virus at bay for the first year of the pandemic but infections have been spreading quickly since late April.

The health ministry reported 7,968 infections on Saturday, a record daily increase.

In all, it has recorded nearly 95,000 infections and at least 370 deaths, most in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.

Nearly half of the latest shipment of Moderna vaccines will be sent to that city, the US Embassy in Hanoi said on Saturday//CNA

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno - 

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno has urged students to become agents of revival in Indonesia's creative economy sector to help recover the national economy.

"Invite your friends to actively participate in economic recovery. Let's improve ourselves and hone our skills because COVID-19 has forced us to improve our skills through upskilling and reskilling," the minister said during a webinar at a Bangka Belitung village on Saturday.

His request has come amid a downward trend in the tourism and creative economy.

Uno said Indonesia's tourism and creative economy has experienced a decline of up to 85 percent in foreign exchange revenue, with more than 500 thousand workers in the tourism industry as well as 400 thousand workers in the creative economy industry losing their jobs due to the COVID-19.

Thus, students must actively work to bring the nation's economy into a better state, he added.

"We should not only survive, but also keep looking for opportunities and become a winner. We need to adjust ourselves to create new opportunities," the minister remarked.

The former  deputy governor of  Jakarta said he hoped that, in this difficult time, students can develop creative products and provide hope to one another to get through the COVID-19 pandemic as winners.

The development of creative products will lead to the generation of new ideas, which can be implemented to expand business reach and improve the condition of Indonesia's economy, Uno said.

He said he expects the development of creative products to further improve citizens' ability to survive, innovate, adapt, and collaborate.

"I believe that a creative and collaborative spirit will bring a positive impact toward the potential of the millennial generation," he added//ANT