VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A junior high school student receives a COVID-19 shot at the parking lot of Gembira Loka Zoo in Yogyakarta on July 13, 2021. (ANTARA FOTO/Hendra Nurdiyansyah/wsj) - 

The government has decided to raise the budget for the COVID-19 handling and national economic recovery (PEN) program to Rp744.7 trillion from the initial ceiling of Rp699.4 trillion, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said."(The budget funds) for the COVID-19 handling and PEN program will increase to Rp744.75 trillion, in accordance with the decision agreed upon by Mr. President," she informed at an online press conference in Jakarta on Saturday night.

The minister said the budget allocation for the social protection program will increase to Rp187.84 trillion from Rp153.86 trillion, while the allocation for the health program will rise to Rp214.95 trillion from Rp172 trillion earlier.

Budget allocations for other programs are still being considered, but their amount will not be far different from the initially ceiling, based on the evaluation of the ongoing programs, the minister added.

"(The budget funds) for business incentives are pegged at Rp62.83 trillion, while those for MSMEs will fall slightly because they will be focused on credit for working capital insurance, instead of cash assistance. (The budget funds) for other priority programs will remain unchanged at Rp117.94 trillion. So, the budget funds for PEN and COVID-19 handling program will increase from Rp699.43 trillion to Rp744.75 trillion," Indrawati said.

With the change in the budget funding for COVID-19 handling and PEN program, there will be an increase of Rp55.2 trillion in the allocation, she noted.

"We will refocus (the state budget) to check and comb budget funds at ministries and institutions as well as regional governments so they can all be directed towards helping people handle COVID-19 and the business world recover," she remarked//ANT

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, addressing an online press conference in Jakarta on Thursday (July 15, 2021). (ANTARA/HO-Kemenko Marves) - 

The government is preparing to disburse additional social assistance worth Rp39.19 trillion to alleviate the financial burden on the people caused by the enforcement of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM), a senior minister has said.

"Mr. President has instructed his ministers to channel aid to the people to alleviate their burden during the emergency PPKM (enforcement)," Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said at an online press conference in Jakarta on Saturday night.

Pandjaitan, who is also coordinator for the emergency PPKM, said President Joko Widodo has directed Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini to realize the additional social assistance soon.

The aid will comprise the distribution of 10 kilograms of rice to 18.9 million beneficiary families and cash assistance to 10 million beneficiary families, he informed.

"(The government) will later provide additional aid in the form of basic necessities to 18.9 million beneficiary families," he said.

The government will also increase the budget funds for 5.9 million beneficiary families at the request of regional governments, allocate Rp10 trillion for the pre-employment card program, and extend electricity subsidies for households consuming 450-900 volt-ampere (VA) of power by another three months until December, 2021, Pandjaitan informed.

"(We) will also extend the internet quota subsidy for students, university students, teachers, and lecturers and subsidy for base electricity tariffs by another six months until December 2021," he said.

The government will also raise the budget allocation for the health sector to Rp13.21 trillion to cover the medical treatment of COVID-19 patients, provision of incentives to vaccinators, construction of field hospitals, purchase of oxygen, and distribution of 2 million packages of free COVID-19 drugs, among other things//ANT

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin . (July 15, 2021). (Asdep KIP Setwapres) - 

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has appealed to Indonesia's Muslims to perform Idul Adha prayer at home with their families, as there should be no congregational prayer either in the mosques or in the fields.

“Performing a mass prayer is voluntary, but protecting ourselves from the COVID-19 pandemic is obligatory, so obligatory things should be preceded over the voluntary one,” Amin stated in a press release here on Sunday.

The provision on performing Idul Adha prayer at home aims at slashing the COVID-19 transmission case rate during the enforcement of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM), he expounded.

Amin emphasized that the policy was not meant to restrain the Muslims from praying in mosques, but to protect the public from the COVID-19 threats.

“The enforcement aims to help handle the COVID-19 pandemic by protecting and preventing the public from being infected and becoming victims,” he said.

The provision on Muslims’ worships during Idul Adha is regulated on Religius Affairs Circular No.17 of 2021 pertaining to temporary suspension on mass prayers at places of worship, takbiran (eve of Idul Adha celebrations) night, Idul Adha prayers, and technical guidance on qurban implementation in 1442 Islamic year in the emergency PPKM areas.

The Vice President earlier called on ulemas to call on all people to obey the government’s policy by not causing a crowd during Idul Adha.

“I ask all activities to be aligned with the provision, do not throng, including doing all activities pertaining to Idul Adha at mosque or outside the mosque,” he said.

Millions of Muslims across the globe — including in countries like Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Russia and Pakistan — are celebrating Idul Adha or  Eid al-Adha, Islam’s most revered observance, which falls on July 20 this year in Indonesia.

Known as the Feast of Sacrifice or “big Eid,” it is one of the two major religious festivals of Islam. The other, Eid al-Fitr, occurs at the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting//ANT

Sivenesia (Smart Innovation Ventilator Indonesia), developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Center (P2ET) of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), offers CPAP as well as BiPAP operation modes to help COVID-19 patients breathe comfortably - 

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Center (P2ET) of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has developed a ventilator named Sivenesia (Smart Innovation Ventilator Indonesia) to support the nation's COVID-19 handling efforts.

The Sivenesia ventilator offers both CPAP and BiPAP operation modes, P2ET researcher Eko Joni Pristianto said in a statement received here on Saturday.

"CPAP and BiPAP are categorized as the most effective non-invasive treatments and are the first choices that are most commonly used for patients with respiratory issues," he explained.

The availability of breathing aids, such as ventilators, has become very important in handling critical COVID-19 cases, whose number has continued to rise in every health facility, he pointed out.

In CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) mode, the Sivenesia ventilator will produce one level of positive air pressure at a constant and continuous pace to help keep patients' airways open, Pristianto informed.

Meanwhile, in BiPAP (Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure) mode, the ventilator will produce two levels of positive air pressure -- when the patient breathes in (inhales) and when the patient exhales -- so that the patient can breathe more comfortably, while maintaining the required PEEP (Positive End-Expiratory Pressure), he added.

Ventilators with CPAP and BiPAP modes are usually recommended by doctors for patients suffering from sleep apnea, a condition in which a patient's respiratory system stops for a while during sleep, which can lead to poor sleep quality, he said.

The CPAP or BiPAP are pressure-based ventilator modes that aim to prevent airway obstruction, a symptom experienced by many COVID-19 patients, as well as to train the respiratory muscles before the patient can breathe normally, Pristianto said.

The purpose of using a ventilator is to keep the patient's respiratory tract open, while the basic difference between the CPAP and BiPAP modes lies in the level of breathing comfort, he explained.

In CPAP mode, the Sivenesia ventilator will provide continuous positive pressure air flow through a tube connected to the nose or through the mouth, which means patients may experience discomfort, especially during the exhalation process, he further said.

This problem could be particularly troubling for patients with neuromuscular disease, an extensive group of disorders characterized by motor changes produced by injury or neurological disorders, he added.

Meanwhile, in the BiPAP mode, the ventilator will provide variable pressure when the patient inhales and when the patient exhales so that the patient can breathe more easily, he said.

The Sivenesia has undergone a series of testing stages, including laboratory-scale testing in the initial stage, where testing focuses on technical issues, he informed.

"We have carried out a function test at the Health Facility Security Center (BPFK) of the Indonesian Ministry of Health and have passed the test, where we received certification,” he said.

The function test, which lasted for 21 days non-stop, included a series of trials on performance, system endurance, and electrical safety, he disclosed.

“In the next stage, we will conduct a Sivenesia clinical trial as the next step to obtain a distribution permit as a form of dissemination of our research results," he added//ANT