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National Police Chief Gen Lt. Listyo Sigit Prabowo and Military Chief I Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto observed mass vaccination in Surabaya, East Java, on Friday. (ANTARA/HO-Divisi Humas Polri) - 

National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo is sanguine that herd immunity would be achieved in East Java in August 2021 as a consequence of the massive vaccination drive conducted in the province.

If the daily target of vaccinating 300 thousand people is maintained and increased, East Java will achieve herd immunity at the end of August 2021, Prabowo noted in a written statement issued after observing the mass vaccination at the Mall Grand City in Surabaya, East Java, on Friday.

Prabowo commended the solidity of the ranks of the East Java Provincial Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkompinda) in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, including conducting mass vaccination.

The military- and police-initiated mass vaccination was organized by the Council of Buddhist Communities (Walubi) in cooperation with the Brawijaya Regional Military Command by targeting to vaccinate 300 thousand residents on a daily basis. 

While observing the mass vaccination, Prabowo reminded the vaccinated residents to remain consistent in adhering to health protocols, including maintaining physical distance, wearing masks, washing hands, avoiding crowds, and reducing mobility.

"Stay motivated, maintain physical distance, and wear masks since COVID-19 is still found around us. Love your family, love your brothers. Love our friends," he affirmed.

Prabowo again acquainted the public with the significance of the government's policy to impose emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) in Java and Bali.

The emergency PPKM is being enforced with the objective of breaking the chain of COVID-19 transmission, so the essence of the measure is safety for all Indonesians, according to Prabowo.

"Hence, a big step is needed, including implementing emergency PPKM. There are three essential aspects in enforcing it, with the first being controlling; second, restricting public mobility; and third, enforcing the implementation of micro PPKM," he stated//ANT

Bangladesh has ordered a strict week-long nationwide lockdown in a bid to halt the spread of COVID-19, but Khulna's hospitals cannot cope. (Photo: AFP/Kazi SANTO) - 

Empty oxygen cylinders are piling up almost as fast as bodies in the city of Khulna, which has become Bangladesh's coronavirus hotspot in a dire new surge.

The government has ordered a strict week-long nationwide lockdown in a bid to halt the spread of COVID-19, but Khulna's hospitals cannot cope.

Neither can relatives of the dead.

Mohammad Siddik leaned against empty cylinders under a hospital emergency porch, tearfully telling relatives in phone calls that his 50-year-old brother had died.

The 42-year-old businessman brought his brother to hospital as his condition deteriorated. But there was no bed and no oxygen, he told AFP.

"He passed away gasping for air in the hospital corridor," said Siddik.

"They didn't give him any oxygen until the end."

The southwestern district bordering India's West Bengal state has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus infections blamed on the more contagious Delta variant, which was first detected in India.

On Thursday, Khulna city recorded 46 virus deaths, according to an official count, while in earlier waves the daily death toll never went into double figures.

Most people in the city of 680,000 people say the real toll is much higher and, according to reports, graveyards cannot cope with the number of dead in nearby cities such as Satkhira.

The main state-run Khulna general hospital is one of four in the city treating coronavirus patients and has 400 beds, but demand far outstrips supply.

"We have been dealing with enormous admission pressure in hospitals," said Niaz Muhammad, chief government doctor for the Khulna region.

He denied there was an oxygen shortage.Police and troops have patrolled the streets across Bangladesh, home to 168 million people, since Thursday to enforce the lockdown. Hundreds of people have been arrested each day for leaving their homes//CNA

A Philippine military plane carrying troops crashed in a southern province Sunday after missing the runway on July 4, 2021. (Photo: Facebook/Rotary Clubs of the Philippines) - 

At least 17 people were killed when a Philippines Air Force plane carrying troops crashed on landing in the south of the country and broke up in flames on Sunday.

"So far 40 wounded and injured were rescued and 17 bodies recovered. Rescue and recovery is ongoing," Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement.

Ninety-two people, most of them army personnel, were on board the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft when it crashed on Jolo island in Sulu province around midday, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement.

Military chief Cirilito Sobejana said the plane had "missed the runway" and crashed while trying to land.

"While transporting our troops from Cagayan de Oro (on the southern island of Mindanao), it missed the runway, trying to regain power but it didn't make it," Sobejana told local media, describing the accident as "very unfortunate".

"Responders are at the site now, we are praying we can save more lives," Sobejana told AFP.

Sobejana said the 40 rescued were being treated at the nearby 11th Infantry Division hospital.

Pictures from the scene showed flames and smoke pouring from wreckage strewn among trees as men in combat uniform milled around. A large column of black smoke rose into the blue sky.

Many of the passengers had recently graduated from basic military training and were being deployed to the restive island as part of a joint task force fighting terrorism in the Muslim-majority region.

The military has a heavy presence in the southern Philippines where militant groups, including the kidnap-for-ransom outfit Abu Sayyaf, operate.

C-130 aircraft, the work horses of the air force, are used to transport troops and supplies. They are also often deployed to deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

A military spokesman, Colonel Edgard Arevalo, said there was no indication of any attack on the plane, but that a crash investigation had not begun and efforts were focused on rescue and treatment.

The accident comes after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed last month during a night-time training flight, killing all six on board.

Three pilots and three airmen died when their S-70i went down near the Crow Valley training range north of Manila, prompting the grounding of the entire fleet.

The country ordered 16 of the multi-role aircraft from a Polish firm that made them under licence from the Sikorsky division of US defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Eleven have been delivered since late 2020//CNA

President of ASPEK Indonesia, Mirah Sumirat. (FOTO ANTARA/HO-Aspekindonesia.org) - 

The Indonesian Association of Labor Unions (ASPEK Indonesia) has made an earnest request to President Joko Widodo to continue to protect workers' rights during the enforcement of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) for Java and Bali

"We support any government effort to contain the COVID-19 spread in Indonesia. However., we also appeal to the government to protect the rights of workers related to certainties about jobs, wages and welfare," ASPEK Indonesia President Mirah Sumirat said in a written statement released on Saturday.

She noted a quite few companies failed to pay workers and laid off workers unilaterally when the government enforced several times public activity restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The companies did that on the pretext of COVID-19 pandemic, she added

Hence, the Manpower Ministry had to tighten the supervision of the companies which fail to pay workers and lay off workers unilaterally during the emergency PPKM, she said.

"Emergency PPKM should not become an excuse for employers to shun obligation to pay workers and lay off workers unilaterally," she remarked.

With the second wave of COVID-19 infections driving rates of hospitalization and deaths to record highs, the government has decided to impose emergency restrictions in Java and Bali Islands from July 3 to July 20, 2021.

The new restrictions aim to cut daily cases to below 10 thousand and entail a work-from-home guidance for all non-essential sectors and the continued closure of schools and universities.

During the emergency restrictions, public amenities like beaches, parks, tourist attractions, and places of worship will remain closed, while restaurants will be allowed to only offer take-away or delivery services//ANT