VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Officials in Tokyo are forging ahead with hosting the Olympics from July 23 AFP/Philip FONG - 

Tokyo will cancel all public Olympics viewing events in an effort to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections, the city governor said on Saturday (Jun 19).

Having postponed the Games for a year because of the pandemic, Japan has already banned overseas spectators - in an Olympics first - while reducing the number of participants, volunteers and guests.

However, officials are forging ahead with hosting the Games from Jul 23.

"We have decided to cancel these live viewing sites that gather people," Yuriko Koike told reporters, after meeting Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

"On the other hand, we will make greater use of the web to create exciting atmospheres for the Games and to disseminate various cultural information."

There had been six planned viewing sites, across the Japanese capital.

The announcement came as Koike and Suga prepare to meet Olympics and Paralympics officials Monday for a key consultation during which they are expected to finalise whether to allow domestic spectators inside Games venues.

Politicians and organisers are pushing for some spectators to be allowed.

But Japan's top infectious disease experts have urged them to consider holding the Games behind closed doors.

Japan has had a comparatively small virus outbreak, with just over 14,000 deaths despite avoiding harsh lockdowns.

The government has recently accelerated vaccination efforts, with just over 6 per cent of the population fully jabbed.

Koike said the metropolis would turn some facilities that were marked for Olympics viewing events into vaccination centres//CNA

Around 65.1 per cent of people in the United States had gotten at least one shot as of Jun 18, 2021. (File Photo: AP) - 

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday (Jun 19) urged Americans to get COVID-19 shots, as the country looks likely to miss the White House's goals for vaccination next month as a new coronavirus variant triggered serious concerns.

"Act now, act now," Biden said in remarks at the White House, urging the unvaccinated to talk to their family and friends who have had shots and to their doctors.

Deaths and hospitalisations are going "drastically down in places where people are getting vaccinated", but not other areas, Biden said. "They're actually going up in some places."

At the current pace, the United States seems unlikely to hit Biden's goal of having 70 per cent of adults receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Jul 4, the Independence Day holiday.

As of Friday, around 65.1 per cent of people in the United States had gotten at least one shot, and that mark has increased by less than one percentage point over the past two weeks.

That pace would have to more than double over the next two weeks for the United States to hit the target.

The White House had no immediate comment on the possibility of missing the Jul 4, 70 per cent goal. Currently, only 15 states and Washington, DC have achieved that level.

US government data show a political divide as well, with states won by former President Donald Trump lagging well behind in vaccination rates than those won by Biden.

“When you get the vaccine for yourself, that means that you will not possibly pass it on to somebody else in general because you’re unlikely to get COVID," Harris said during a vaccination drive at Atlanta's famed Ebenezer Baptist Church. "Isn't that an extension of love thy neighbor?" she said, to which several in the audience responded, "Amen!"

Officials said Biden's push to accelerate vaccinations since taking office in January was paying off, with COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths down to their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.

Earlier this week, the United States marked a grim milestone, surpassing 600,000 COVID-19 deaths.

The US death toll remains the highest in the world, although other countries, including Brazil, Britain and Russia, have higher death rates as a measure of their populations.

A White House fact sheet said the number of COVID-19 deaths has decreased by 90 per cent since Biden took office in January, when more than 3,300 Americans were dying each day, and highlighted big gains in the economy as people return to work.

It said more than 175 million Americans had received at least one shot, and 55 per cent of adults were fully vaccinated//CNA

Military personnel aboard combat tank went on standby in Myanmar's capital of Naypritaw, (ANTARA FOTO/REUTERS/Stringer/wsj.) - 

An Indonesian lawmaker sought prompt action from ASEAN leaders against the Myanmar military junta for its ongoing and rampant acts of violence and human rights violations.

"The Myanmar military junta, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, is not committed to stopping violence and building constructive dialog in accordance with the agreement he has reached along with ASEAN leaders," member of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I Sukamta remarked here on Friday.

Sukamta made the statement in response to the Myanmar military torching hundreds of houses in Kinma Village in the Magway region. Only 10 of the 237 houses are still intact.

Indonesia, as a large nation, deems it necessary to adopt firm measures against the Myanmar military junta that has continued to commit violence.

The politician of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has put forth numerous firm and stern steps for Indonesia to take in order to facilitate the settlement of political and humanitarian conflicts in Myanmar.

"First, it intensifies diplomacy, through the ASEAN, by encouraging countries close to Myanmar to not support the Myanmar military junta, both politically and economically," he stressed.

Secondly, it severs economic cooperation with companies affiliated to the Myanmar military junta, he noted.

Thirdly, it brings up the matter of Myanmar at the UN session and encourages the UN to take action, he remarked.

The steps must be taken soon to prevent more from falling victims, he emphasized.

Sukamta remarked that various steps will also test the importance of Indonesia's role and position in attaining and maintaining global peace//ANT

Indonesia recorded 12,990 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours amid a fresh surge in infections, bringing the total tally to 1,963,266, Indonesia's Task Force for COVID-19 Response reported here on Friday.

Meanwhile, the number of people recovering from the virus climbed by 7,907, taking the total recoveries to 1,779,127.

With 290 people succumbing to the virus, the death toll climbed to 54,043.

Indonesia also registered 4,793 additional active COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total to 130,096, while the number of suspected cases reached 111,635.

Jakarta recorded the highest single-day increase in cases at 4,737, which accounted for 36.47 percent of the national increase on June 18, 2021.

Meanwhile, West Java contributed 2,791 cases (or, 21.48 percent of the total cases), followed by Central Java, which added 1,331 cases (10.25 percent), East Java 731 cases (5.63 percent), Yogyakarta 592 cases (4.56 percent), and Riau 353 cases (2.72 percent).

Jakarta accounted for 2,517, or 31.83 percent, of the single-day recoveries, followed by West Java, which added 1,292 recoveries (16.34 percent), Central Java 790 (9.99 percent), Java East 408 (5.16 percent), and Riau 366, or 4.63 percent, recoveries.

The provinces with the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases were Jakarta (463,552), followed by West Java (340,455), Central Java (223,076), East Java (162,116), East Kalimantan (73,363), and South Sulawesi (62,878).

Jakarta also recorded the highest total recoveries at 431,004, followed by West Java (309,184), Central Java (190,857), East Java (145,976), East Kalimantan (70,323), and South Sulawesi (61,337)//ANT