VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. He is also acting as coordinator for the emergency public activity restrictions in Java and Bali. (ANTARA/HO-Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment) - 

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has sought the direct distribution of vaccines and social aid among the people.

The minister, who is serving as the coordinator for the emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) in Java and Bali, made the request during a meeting reviewing vaccinations, the implementation of mobility restrictions, and the optimization of military facilities for self-isolation and reinforcements, held virtually on Friday.

"I ask for regional police and military chiefs to carry out patrols in the outskirts areas. Vaccinations can be distributed directly there in the area," Pandjaitan said in a statement received here on Friday.

In the month of July, 2021, Indonesia will have an additional 46 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and they will be distributed to those living in the outlying and slum areas that do not have access to health facilities, he informed.

He further said that he had asked the military and police forces to identify marginal locations in each area and ensure the availability of food, especially rice.

"This is micro-targeted. Vaccines, medicines, and social aid in the form of rice for those in the outskirts area -- these need to be carried out," the minister said, adding that access to food in such areas needs to be ensured.

He also asked all ministers present at the meeting to carry out their response, in accordance with their respective fields and duties in regard to the report delivered by the military and police chiefs in each area.

Meanwhile, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Erick Thohir affirmed his support for the directive.

"I will go on a video conference call with the Minister of Health in regard to the matter, and for rice support, we will cooperate with the logistics agency (Bulog)," he said.

Similarly, Minister of Social Affairs, Tri Rismaharini, said that she will distribute social assistance packages to people with the help of the police and military forces. A total of 1,500 packages will be distributed in every 100 cities/districts, she added.

She further said that officers on the ground will have the sanction to propose additional packages should they be needed//ANT

Rohika, assistant to PPPA ministry's deputy for fulfillment of children's rights to parenting and the environment - 

The number of child marriage dispensations tripled in Indonesia in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA).

"Marriage dispensation is when the prospective groom and bride are under 19 years old. In 2020, there was a three-fold increase (in child marriages)," Rohika, assistant to the ministry's deputy for fulfillment of children's rights to parenting and the environment, said at an online press conference here on Friday.

According to data processed by the Religious Affairs Courts Agency (Badilag) of the Supreme Court, the number of child marriage dispensation decisions in 2020 reached 63,383 compared to 23,145 in 2019 .

Rohika said Indonesia was included in the list of top ten countries with the highest child marriages in the world.

Therefore, intervention is needed to address the problem, which is prevalent in a number of provinces in Indonesia, she remarked.

The PPPA ministry is facing several challenges in efforts to achieve the national target to reduce the child marriage rate to 8.74 percent by 2024, Rohika informed.

They include risk behaviors on part of Indonesian youth, who do not understand the impact and risks of child marriage, she pointed out. In addition, some parents and religious and traditional leaders do not understand the child protection rights, she added. 

Besides, local communities still use religious and cultural interpretations to justify the practice of child marriage, Rohika said. Furthermore, relevant regulations need technical elaborations to avoid uncertainty in their implementation by stakeholders, she added.

"Stakeholders do not understand the regulations, there are still many who do not know about the dispensation for marriage and child marriage," she said.

According to Rohika, there needs to be a change in the mindset to change the tradition of child marriage, which has been continuously legitimized by the community.

The country is also lacking in providing referral services to children at risk of child marriage, she added.

"There are not many outreach services for children who are forced or vulnerable to forced marriage. Commitment to coordinating services is important in this regard," she remarked//ANT

At least 14,868,577 Indonesians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 so far, Health Ministry data shows. (ANTARA/Akhmad Nazaruddin Lathif) - 

A total of 35,775,567 Indonesians have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of July 9, 2021, an increase of 914,881 compared to the previous day, according to the Health Ministry. Meanwhile, the number of Indonesians who have received the second vaccine dose has reached 14,868,577, up 246,075 from the previous day, as per data released by the ministry here on Friday.

Under the first phase of the national vaccination program, which has been implemented since January 13, 2021, the government is targeting to inoculate 40,349,049 people. The program is prioritizing healthcare workers, public service officers, and the elderly.

Overall, the government is aiming to vaccinate 181.5 million citizens, or 70 percent of the country's population, in an effort to develop herd immunity against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, professor of pulmonology and respiratory medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (UI), Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, has urged the public to not hesitate to take the CoronaVac vaccine developed by China's Sinovac even though it has not been recognized by Singapore.

According to Aditama, who is currently serving as the postgraduate director of Yarsi University, Singapore's decision to not include Sinovac in its vaccination list is a step that must be respected because each country has its own policies for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, he expressed the hope that Singapore's decision would not affect the Indonesian public's opinion regarding the implementation of the vaccination program in Indonesia, which currently mostly uses Sinovac vaccines.

To tackle the latest surge in infections, the central government has instructed local governments to accelerate vaccinations.

The Jakarta administration has deployed mobile ambulances to expand the coverage of vaccinations in the capital city//ANT

Screenshot of President Jokowi while inaugurating the operation of the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory as a COVID-19 Handling Hospital in Jakarta, Friday (July 9). ANTARA/Indra Arief - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) confirmed that the Wisma Haji Hospital could soon be operationalized, as early as Saturday, July 10, 2021, to treat COVID-19 patients.

"I see that everything is 99-percent ready, so that tomorrow morning, the Wisma Haji Hospital can become operational," Jokowi stated at the Wisma Haji Hospital, Jakarta, on Friday.

The president made the statement after reviewing the readiness of the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory that has been converted to the Wisma Haji Hospital.

"This afternoon, I, along with the religious affairs minister, witnessed the completion of Wisma Haji, which will be converted into the Wisma Haji Hospital for handling COVID-19," Jokowi noted.

To this end, the head of state further thanked Health Minister Budi Sadikin, Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and all of his staff.

"Those who have worked hard within five days to prepare Wisma Haji to be converted into a hospital. I have already checked the hospital equipment, air conditioner, and then the elevator for patients," Jokowi stated.

The Wisma Haji Hospital has prepared at least 900 beds and 50 ICU beds to handle COVID-19 patients.

Jokowi also invited the entire community to serve as volunteers to help tackle COVID-19 and support the efforts of health workers, state civil servants (ASN), military (TNI), and police (Polri).

"I would like to invite students, youth, and women to become volunteers in handling the COVID-19 pandemic," he stated.

In addition to the Wisma Haji Hospital, the government is preparing the Nagrak and Pasar Rumput flats as locations for self-isolation of COVID-19 patients that can accommodate at least seven thousand beds.

On Wednesday (July 7), Jokowi also directly inspected the readiness of the Pasar Rumput flats of three towers.

Based on the COVID-19 Task Force data, as of July 8, 2021, the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia had totaled 2,417,788, with the addition of 38,391 people during a 24-hour period, considered the record for the highest daily count of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia since March 2020.

A total of 359,455 active cases were recorded.

The number of recovered patients rose by 21,185, thereby bringing the total count of recoveries at 1,994,573.

Meanwhile, those who succumbed to COVID-19 increased by 852 people, bringing the total death toll due to the disease in Indonesia to 63,760//ANT