VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

All malls in Jakarta are temporarily closed during Emergency PPKM in Jakarta, Saturday (July 3, 2021). ANTARA/Dewa Ketut Sudiarta Wiguna - 

Several malls in Jakarta were temporarily shut down for trading during the implementation of emergency community activity restrictions (emergency PPKM) to stem the transmission of COVID-19.

"Malls must close, and only essential ones, such as modern supermarkets and pharmacies, should be open," Grand Indonesia Corporate Communications Annisa Hazarini stated in Jakarta, Saturday.

Hazarini noted that only two supermarkets selling basic necessities are open with strict adherence to health protocols.

Furthermore, only few food and beverage outlets in the mall are open, though only accepting delivery services and not offering dine-in services.

Another mall, FX Sudirman, was also temporarily closed following government instructions.

The gate of the mall, located near the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) stadium, was closed to prevent an influx of visitors.

A similar sight was observed at Plaza Senayan that bore a desolate look amid the absence of visitors.

Only observed were security officers conducting surveillance and a few pedestrians crossing the sidewalk in front of the shopping center.

Another mall, Senayan City, also appeared deserted, as the emergency PPKM was implemented.

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian had earlier officially issued the Instruction of Minister of Home Affairs Number 15 of 2021 on the implementation of Restrictions on Community Activities or the Emergency PPKM in Java and Bali.

Several community activities, particularly those related to mall and shopping center operations, are regulated in the latest instructions, among others, restaurants, including those inside malls, which can only serve food delivery and do not accept meals on the spot.

Shopping centers, malls, and trade centers are temporarily closed except for access to restaurants, shops, and modern supermarkets.

Supermarkets, traditional markets, grocery stores, and supermarkets selling daily necessities are limited to operating hours until 20:00 local time//ANT

FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask walks past light rail platforms devoid of waiting passengers in the city centre at morning commute hour during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sydney, Australia, June 30, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott - 

Australia's New South Wales state recorded its biggest daily rise in COVID-19 infections this year, even as residents in several major cities across the country were released from snap lockdowns on Saturday (Jul 3).

Sydney, the New South Wales state capital and home to a fifth of Australia's 25 million population, has been hit hardest in a flurry of outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant around the country over the past two weeks.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian reported 35 new cases, 29 of which were linked to previous cases. That eclipsed the 31 cases reported a day earlier, taking total infections under the current outbreak to more than 250.

"While the number of cases are going up, we are seeing a greater proportion of those in isolation which is what we want to see," Berejiklian told a press conference.

"We haven't seen a huge surge in cases ... (but) we know the next few days are critical."

Sydney is halfway through a two-week lockdown. Berejiklian said it was still too early to make a decision on whether to extend the lockdown.

"Health experts are giving myself and my colleagues advice on a daily basis," she said. "I anticipate that obviously some time next week we'll be in a position to tell the community where things are at."

Elsewhere in the country, residents enjoyed a taste of freedom as the weekend got underway after lockdowns in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and some areas of Queensland state were lifted on Friday night.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed that a lockdown in Brisbane would be lifted later on Saturday as she reported five new COVID-19 cases in the state.

Lockdowns, swift contact tracing and tough social distancing rules have helped Australia to suppress prior outbreaks, but the fast-moving Delta strain has alarmed authorities amid a sluggish nationwide vaccination drive//CNA

IDI prepares to deploy more healthcare workers amid COVID spike - 

The executive board of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) has prepared a number of schemes for strengthening human resources (HR) to optimize the handling of COVID-19.

"The first scheme that has been prepared is for general practitioners who have completed their internship. They could be prepared to assist in health services," Adib Khumaidi, head of the PB IDI's Doctor Mitigation Team, said at an online press conference here on Friday.

Another scheme involves deploying medical students who have passed and received a doctor's professional competency test certification, he informed.

"Those who have just passed and after they have taken the competency test (will be deployed). The principle is that they have finished the competency test and the competency certificates are registered, hence they can carry out their work," he explained.

Regarding the internship, he said that IDI has asked the Ministry of Health to use interns to form support teams at health facilities that currently need more healthcare workers.

"So, after passing the competency test and having been registered, they can carry out internship service practices, as we have done for Wisma Athletes," Khumaidi said.

The IDI is still awaiting approval from the Health Ministry to implement such a conversion scheme, he informed. The association will later deploy volunteers in areas that needed health workers for handling COVID-19, he added.

A total of 405 Indonesian doctors have succumbed to COVID-19 as of June 27, 2021, as per government data.

Indonesia has been carrying out a national vaccination program, which has been prioritizing healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, since January 13, 2021. The program has mostly used CoronaVac vaccines developed by Sinovac of China.

Meanwhile, based on data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Indonesia's COVID-19 cases have once again hit a record, with daily new cases reaching 25,830 on Friday, bringing the tally to 2,228,938 cases.

Indonesia also added a record number of daily deaths at 539 on Friday, bringing the death toll to 59,534.

Jakarta added the highest number of infections at 9,399, followed by West Java (4,920) and Central Java (2,538).

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 will include work-from-home orders 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.

From 12 a.m. Saturday, the Jakarta police will "lock" Jakarta, so there will be strict restrictions and checks on all those trying to enter or leave Jakarta//ANT

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto. (ANTARA/HO-Kemenko Perekonomian) - 

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said that consumer protection plays an important role in national economic growth.

“Public consumption contributes 57 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP). Indonesia's population is also very large, which means that the largest market potential in ASEAN (it) is important to maintain public trust and purchasing power," he said in a statement issued on Friday.

Consumer protection would build public trust in transactions, which would have an effect on increasing consumption, including in the form of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

In terms of economic recovery, Hartarto said, government consumption has encouraged an improvement in household consumption and investment. The improvement in domestic demand has led to an increase in production activity in the business sector, he added.

“Indicators of economic recovery have continued in May (2021) and the consumer confidence index has continued to rise to an optimistic level of 104.4, the retail sales index has experienced a positive growth of 12.9 percent (yoy), bringing the manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) to its highest level of 55.3," he noted.

Furthermore, consumer protection institutions have played a central role in ensuring the fulfillment of consumer rights during the pandemic and the government has had a role in protecting consumers and encouraging goods and service business actors to provide quality, quantity, and security guarantees for goods and or services, the minister said.

"The government will continue to ensure the availability of complaint channels, complaint handling, and consumer dispute resolution," Hartarto assured.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN) Rizal E Halim has said the agency has so far provided suggestions and considerations to ministries/agencies as well as reports to President Joko Widodo.

From 2005 to 2021, the BPKN has provided 212 recommendations, he informed. Of these, 46 recommendations have received a direct response from ministries/agencies, he said. So there are still 166 recommendations that have not received a response as of June 30, 2021, he added.

"In 2021, BPKN has provided 12 recommendations and only 4 recommendations have been responded to in writing by ministries/agencies that have been accepted by BPKN," Halim informed.

He said he hopes the acceleration of synchronization, harmonization, and policy response in the field of consumer protection under the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs can be used to build a conducive and equitable business climate.

"Consumer protection needs to be prioritized as one of the national strategic programs, both directly and indirectly, to help accelerate the national economic recovery," Halim stressed//ANT