VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Navy Base in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, organized a vaccination program on Saturday (July 3, 2021). ANTARA/HO- Kendari Navy Base - 

As many as 152,625 Indonesians received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, thereby bringing the count of fully vaccinated people to 13,922,732.

Meanwhile, the number of people having received their first COVID-19 dose rose by 681,419 to reach 31,573,240 as of Saturday.

The government is endeavoring to expedite the national vaccination program to attain herd immunity and handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

To this end, the government is planning to vaccinate 40,349,049 people in the first and second phases of the national vaccination program. The targeted vaccine recipients comprise healthcare workers, public service officers, and senior citizens.

Earlier, the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) had issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Moderna Inc. in Indonesia.

An EUA was issued for the Moderna vaccine based on the outcome of a study conducted by the Expert Team of the COVID-19 Vaccine Appraisal National Committee and the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI).

"BPOM’s task is to support the government in ensuring and evaluating that the vaccines used in Indonesia meet the aspects of quality, security, and efficacy," BPOM Chief Penny K. Lukito stated.

Overall, the government is seeking to vaccinate 181.5 million citizens, or 70 percent of the country's population, to create herd immunity against the virus.

To expedite vaccinations, the government has been making all-out efforts to increase the capacity of inoculation services//ANT

Professor Emil Salim of University of Indonesia (UI). ANTARA/Astrid Faidlatul Habibah - 

The use of fossil energy to usher in the fourth industrial revolution, known as industry 4.0, in Indonesia increases the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gas emissions, according to an economist cum environmentalist.

"The key to the industrial revolution is energy. Fossil fuel is the energy that boosts (the production of) carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. Coal as well as natural oil and gas that are the key to energy sources used in industrialization become dominant in Indonesia's development," Emil Salim, a professor of University of Indonesia (UI), stated on Friday.

The use of fossil energy in several national development projects makes Indonesia the world's fifth-largest carbon dioxide producer, he remarked.

Salim called to swap the fossil energy-based development strategy with a renewable energy-oriented development strategy.

The UI professor noted that climate change due to the use of fossil energy leads to global warming, thereby increasing the sea levels. Consequently, several small islands will disappear in future.

"We must replace fossil fuel-based energy, such as natural oil, coal, and natural gas, (with renewable energy)," he affirmed.

The sun serves as a main source of energy to generate electricity in Indonesia, he noted.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s data indicated that non-tax state revenues from the mineral and coal sector had reached Rp22.34 trillion in the year ending May 31, 2021. The figure represents 54.5 percent of the targeted Rp39.1 trillion for 2021.

The government will continue to use coal as priority energy until 2040 through the National Energy Grand Strategy that is currently being formulated to ascertain adequate energy supplies in future.

The planned strategy accords priority to the fulfilment of domestic energy requirements and the added value of coal through gasification.

Although the green energy mix is projected to curb the percentage share of coal by up to 25 percent in 2050, the equivalent volume will increase as compared to 2025//ANT

Motorcyclists on Sudirman road were diverted to Senopati road as traffic in the direction of the Senayan Roundabout, Jakarta was temporarily closed on the first day of emergency PPKM on Saturday (July 3, 2021). ANTARA/Dewa Ketut Sudiarta Wiguna - 

The Sudirman-Thamrin road bore a deserted look on Saturday, the first day of the implementation of the emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) for controlling the spread of COVID-19.

Police installed barricades at several intersection points on one of Jakarta’s main roads on Saturday to limit the mobility of residents, ANTARA reported from the capital.

Barricades were placed to cut access from Thamrin road to the Hotel Indonesia (HI) roundabout, while the route from Sudirman road to Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) was also temporarily closed, with traffic redirected to the SCBD area, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

The route to the Senayan Roundabout was also barricaded and traffic diverted to Senopati-Patimura roads.

Several police officers, assisted by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), were put on standby at a number of points, including at intersections, including the one on Pintu Satu Senayan road or near FX Sudirman to Sudirman road.

Drivers on Asia Afrika road headed to Sudirman road via Pintu Satu Senayan road were also asked to turn around.

However, officers made exceptions for drivers taking sick residents to the hospital.

A traffic congestion was reported in the area, but officers on duty stepped in to break up the jam.

By 11 a.m. local time on Saturday, there was no traffic congestion on the route from the Sudirman-Thamrin road to the Senayan Roundabout due to traffic restrictions on the first day of emergency PPKM.

Earlier, Jakarta Police had implemented isolation measures at 63 entry and exit points for Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jadetabek) in accordance with the Implementation of the Java-Bali Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM).

"There are 63 points that we are guarding, consisting of 28 points on city limits and toll roads, then 21 points for mobility restrictions in locations prone to violations," traffic director of Jakarta Police, Senior Commissioner Sambodo Purnomo Yogo, said in Jakarta on Friday (July 2, 2021).

The isolation measures were enforced from 12 a.m. WIB on Saturday, with only individuals working in the essential sector allowed to venture outside the home//ANT

Screenshot of Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin during a press briefing on Saturday (July 3, 2021) on the ceiling price of drugs used in COVID-19 treatment. ANTARA/Asep Firmansyah/sh - 

The government has set the ceiling price for drugs used in COVID-19 treatment through the issuance of Health Minister’s Decree No. HK.01.07/MENKES/4826/2021.

"Yesterday afternoon, we have signed the health minister’s decree on the ceiling price of drugs used for the coronavirus disease 2019. This is the ceiling price for medicines sold at drug stores, pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and healthcare facilities across Indonesia," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated here on Saturday.

The drugs used in COVID-19 treatment comprise Favipiravir 200 mg tablet, with the ceiling price set at Rp22,500; Remdesivir 100 mg injection, at Rp510,000 per vial; Oseltamivir 75 mg priced at Rp26,000 per capsule; and Intravenous Immunoglobulin 5 percent 50 ml infusion costing Rp3,262,300.

The others used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients are intravenous Immunoglobulin 10 percent 25 ml infusion at Rp3,965,000; Intravenous Immunoglobulin 10 percent 50 ml infusion priced at Rp6,174,900; Ivermectin 12 mg tablet at Rp7,500; and Tocilizumab 400 mg/20 ml infusion in vial available for Rp5,710,600.

Tocilizumab 80 mg/4 ml infusion in vial form costing Rp1,162,200; Azithromycin 500 at Rp1,700 per tablet; and Tocilizumab 500 mg infusion at Rp95,400 are others deployed in the COVID-19 treatment regime.

"Those are 11 drugs used during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have set the ceiling price," Sadikin remarked.

The minister explained that the decision seeks to thwart the attempts of speculators to derive high profits that would further hinder the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic//ANT