VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Earthquake occurrences in Aceh and North Sumatra (ANTARA/HO) - 

Within a period of seven days, 48 earthquakes rattled areas in the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh in Sumatra Island, and most of them were categorized as shallow earthquakes.

The earthquakes occurred on several faults, in subduction zones, and outer rises, according to the Medan branch of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG),

"The active faults triggering the earthquake occurred in Seulimeum, Central Aceh, Batee C, Renun, and Toru," the agency's spokesperson, Eridawati, remarked.

A local fault in Samosir Island, North Sumatra, also contributed to the earthquake occurrences, she noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted here on Saturday.

The magnitudes of 44 of the 48 earthquakes that the agency recorded from May 28 to June 3, 2021, were above four, while those of four others were below four.

Referring to the epicenters of those earthquakes, 45 of them occurred on land, while three others occurred at sea, Eridawati stated.

Most of the earthquakes that occurred from May 28 to June 3, 2021, were classified as shallow earthquakes, the agency's researcher, Marzuki Sinambela, noted.

Earthquakes regularly rock various parts of Indonesia since the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

Sumatra and various smaller islands off its coastal areas are vulnerable to earthquake.

On May 22, 2021, for instance, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Enggano Island in the Indonesian province of Bengkulu, but it did not trigger a tsunami.

The epicenter of the quake that struck at around 1:36 a.m. local time was located some 31 kilometers (km) away from the west of Enggano Island's waters, at a depth of 10 km.

Aceh Province, located at the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island, had also experienced the deadliest ever earthquake, followed by a tsunami on December 26, 2004.

The catastrophe that also affected certain coastal areas in countries, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India, reportedly killed some 230 thousand people.

The latest deadly earthquake to have rattled Indonesia was in West Sulawesi Province on January 15, 2021.

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake, ensued by several aftershocks, jolted the districts of Mamuju and Majene, claiming more than 100 lives and destroying several buildings//ANT

The Governor of North Kalimantan, Zainal Arifin Paliwang, during a meeting with the Governor of East Kalimantan, Isran Noor, Friday (4/6) at the residence of the Chairman of the East Kalimantan Legislative Council, Makmur HAPK, in Tanjung Redep, Berau, discussing the construction of the East Kalimantan - North Kalimantan toll road. Documentation of North Kalimantan Provincial Government - 

The North Kalimantan provincial administration has outlined a target to start the North Kalimantan-East Kalimantan toll road construction project next year.

"We have set a target of commencing the construction of the Berau-Bulungan toll road section next year," North Kalimantan Governor Zainal Arifin Paliwang stated.

This year, owing to financial conditions, the toll road construction project had not been feasible, Paliwang noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted in Tanjung Selor on Saturday.

In connection with this toll road project, Paliwang spoke of having met with East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor in Tanjung Redep, Berau, East Kalimantan Province, on Friday.

He had also discussed the matter with Speaker of the East Kalimantan legislative body Makmur HAPK, who had paid a courtesy call on him in Tanjung Selor, Bulungan, on Thursday.

Paliwang spoke of having reached an agreement with his counterpart, Isran Noor, to work together to construct the Berau-Bulungan toll road section.

The North Kalimantan provincial government is tasked with building part of the toll road section located inside its administrative area.

At the same time, the East Kalimantan provincial government will do its part, he noted, adding that the distance from Bulungan to Berau's land border is about 70 kilometers.

Meanwhile, the distance from Berau to the land border of Bulungan in North Kalimantan, is around 50 to 60 kilometers, he stated.

The toll road construction work is expected to commence as planned to bolster regional development and to enable better connectivity between the two provinces' residents, he remarked.

Since the first and second leadership terms of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), infrastructure has held special significance, with the remarkable extension of toll roads being testament to it.

According to the Public Works and Housing Ministry, during the first leadership term of President Jokowi, at least 941 kilometers of toll roads and 3,423 kilometers of national roads were constructed.

Work on the Trans-Java Highway that connects the ferry port in Merak, Banten Province, to Surabaya, the capital city of East Java Province, is complete, thereby reducing the travel time and current logistics costs.

As part of the central government's prioritized development projects, the toll roads are not merely constructed in Java, but they are also built outside the island, such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi//ANT

The escalating pace of new cases has threatened to overwhelm Afghanistan’s health system. (Photo: AP) - 

Afghanistan is battling a brutal surge in COVID-19 infections as health officials plead for vaccines, only to be told by the World Health Organization that the 3 million doses the country expected to receive by April won’t be delivered until August.

“We are in the middle of a crisis,” Health Ministry spokesman Ghulam Dastigir Nazari said this week, expressing deep frustration at the global vaccine distribution that has left poor countries scrambling to find supplies for their people.

Nazari has knocked on the door of several embassies, and so far, “I’ve gotten diplomatic answers” but no vaccine doses, he said.

Over the past month, the escalating pace of new cases has threatened to overwhelm Afghanistan’s health system, already struggling under the weight of relentless conflict. In part, the increase has been blamed on uninterrupted travel with India, bringing the highly contagious Delta variant, first identified in India.

Also, most Afghans still question the reality of the virus or believe their faith will protect them and rarely wear masks or social distance, often mocking those who do. Until just a week ago, the government was allowing unrestricted mass gatherings.

The Delta variant has helped send Afghanistan’s infection rate soaring, hitting 16 provinces and the capital Kabul the hardest. This week, the rate of registered new cases reached as high as 1,500 a day, compared to 178 a day on May 1.

Hospital beds are full, and it is feared rapidly dwindling oxygen supplies will run out. Afghan ambassadors have been ordered to seek out emergency oxygen supplies in nearby countries, Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar said in a tweet Friday.

By official figures, Afghanistan has seen a total 78,000 cases and 3,007 deaths from the pandemic. But those figures are likely a massive undercount, registering only deaths in hospitals, not the far greater numbers who die at home.

Testing is woefully inadequate. In only the past month, the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests has jumped from about 8 per cent to 60 per cent in some parts of the country. By WHO recommendations, anything higher than 5 per cent shows officials aren’t testing widely enough, allowing the virus to spread unchecked.

Only recently, the government tried to take steps to clamp down to contain the surge. It closed schools, universities and colleges for two weeks. It also shut down wedding halls, which had been operating unhindered throughout the pandemic.

But it is rare to see anyone wearing a mask in the streets, and even where masks are mandatory, like in government offices, it’s rarely enforced. As many as 10 flights arrive daily from India, packed with Afghans, particularly students and people who had gone to India for medical treatment.

Nazari said banning flights was not an option since many Afghans cannot afford to be stranded in India and the government cannot prevent citizens from re-entering their own country.

For vaccines, Afghanistan so far has relied on a donation of AstraZeneca doses from India and then purchases of Sinopharm from China. About 600,000 people have had at least one dose, about 1.6per cent of the population of 36 million. But the number who have gotten a second dose is minute — “so few I couldn’t even say any percentage,” Nazari said.

Last month, the ministry received a letter from WHO saying the expected shipment of 3 million vaccine doses will not arrive until August due to supply problems, Nazari said. 

With just 35,000 vaccine doses remaining in the country, the authorities were forced to stop giving first jabs to use remaining supplies to give second jabs, he said.

Poor countries around the world have been pleading for vaccines even as developed nations have been able to inoculate significant portions of their populations. COVAX, set up with UN help to try to prevent vaccine inequities, has struggled to fill the gap. 

It faced a major setback when its biggest supplier, the Serum Institute of India, announced last month that it would not export any vaccines until the end of the year because of the surge in that country.

“Honestly speaking, I lost my faith in COVAX,” Nazari said.

“Unfortunately, there are countries who vaccinated more than their 50 per cent or 60 per cent percent of the population ... and there are countries who did not receive vaccines to even vaccinate 1per cent of their population.”

At the Afghan-Japan Communicable Disease Hospital, Kabul’s only hospital dedicated solely to COVID treatment, all 174 beds are full. The Health Ministry opened roughly 350 more beds for coronavirus patients in another three hospitals, but they too quickly filled up. This week, people were being turned away.

Each day three or four people die of COVID at the Afghan-Japan Hospital, said hospital administrator Dr Zalmai Rishteen.

Doctors struggle with the public’s refusal to take precautions and follow safety protocols. “Our people believe it is fake, especially in the countryside,” Rishteen said. 

“Or they are religious and believe God will save them.”

In the hospital’s intensive care unit, Dr Rahman Mohtazir said that only makes it more dangerous for him as he does his job. “I am afraid I will catch it, but I am here to help,” he said. “I listen to people and they say it’s fake. Then they come here.”

The Health Ministry has recruited clerics, prominent religious figures and local elders to encourage vaccination and anti-coronavirus precautions.

The worsening COVID situation prompted the US Embassy on Thursday to issue a health alert warning of shortages of supplies, oxygen and beds at hospitals and urging American citizens to “to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible"//CNA

A 'Wear a Mask' sign is seen on a mostly-empty city street during morning commute hours on the first day of a seven-day lockdown as the state of Victoria looks to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, May 28, 2021. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders - 

Australia's second-most populous state Victoria on Saturday (Jun 5) reported a small increase in locally acquired COVID-19 cases as authorities hunted for the source of a highly infectious variant that has been detected in a new cluster.

Five new local cases were reported, taking Victoria's total to 69 in the latest outbreak, as the state capital Melbourne entered its second weekend of a hard lockdown, due to end on Jun 10. 

Curbs were eased for the rest of the state on Friday.

Saturday's count was up from four new locally acquired cases on Friday. Authorities on Friday were alarmed after detecting the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 virus variant for the first time in Melbourne, sparking concerns cases could spike. 

There are now seven known cases of the Delta variant in the city. 

The Delta variant, which has been classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as among the four COVID-19 variants of concern due to evidence that it spreads more easily, likely caused the latest devastating outbreak in India.

Snap lockdowns, regional border restrictions and strict social distancing rules have helped Australia rein in prior outbreaks and keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low at just 30,150 cases and 910 deaths.