VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi (center) while reviewing the process of examining the antigen swab test at the Pulo Gebang Terminal, East Jakarta, during the homecoming exodus ban, Saturday (8/5/2021). (ANTARA / Dewa Ketut Sudiarta Wiguna) - 

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi commended the people opting to stay homebound, as reflected in the drop in the number of passengers, even reaching over 95 percent in several transportation modes.

"I laud the public for understanding and abiding by the government’s ban on the homecoming exodus. Indeed, this policy is used to protect us all from exposure to COVID-19," the transportation minister remarked while inspecting the Pulo Gebang Terminal in East Jakarta on Saturday.

Sumadi noted that on the first day of the homecoming exodus ban, on Thursday (May 6), the number of passengers departing from the Pulo Gebang Terminal only reached 11 people, while on the second day on Friday (May 7), the figure was recorded at 40.

The minister expounded that the decrease in the movement of passengers out of Jakarta is estimated to be nearly 90 percent.

"Usually, that is one thousand people, though now, only 40 people were observed," he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the movement of passengers at the Soekarno Hatta Airport and other airports in the country also decreased, even up to 95 percent.

The minister noted that the homecoming ban was also implemented optimally for the rail transportation sector at the Pasar Senen Station, Jakarta.

"Today, I ensure that the government’s policy on banning the homecoming exodus is being implemented properly in various sectors. This morning, I went to the Pasar Senen Station and now at Pulo Gebang," he remarked.

The transportation minister also cited the reasons for the ban on going home while highlighting that the policy was adopted to contain the transmission of COVID-19.

Sumadi noted that the government had made an exception wherein people were permitted to travel specifically for non-homecoming purposes under four criteria -- family death, duty or service, pregnancy, and illness -- with the requirements to be met.

All these non-travelers must fulfill the requirements to bring a written permit, specifically a letter of entry and exit permit (SIKM) from the village head//ANT

7 community cases among 20 new COVID-19 infections in Singapore - 

Seven community cases were among the 20 new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore as of noon on Saturday (May 8), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Of these, two cases were linked to previous infections and had already been placed on quarantine.

Among them, nine are Singaporeans or permanent residents.

No new cases were reported in migrant workers' dormitories.

Details of the new cases will be released on Saturday night, said MOH.

On Friday, the Ministry of Manpower said Singapore would stop accepting new entry applications for work pass holders from higher-risk countries and regions.

This excludes workers needed for key strategic projects and infrastructural works.

Higher-risk countries and regions refer to all places except Australia, Brunei, mainland China, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. 

Work pass holders from higher-risk places who earlier received approval to enter Singapore before Jul 5 will no longer be allowed to do so - except for migrant domestic workers and those in the construction, marine shipyard and process industry.

As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 61,331 COVID-19 cases//CNA

An Air New Zealand plane at Wellington airport. (File photo: AFP/Marty Melville) - 

New Zealand will lift its partial suspension of a travel bubble with Australia from midnight on Sunday (May 9) as fears of a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney eased.

New Zealand had blocked travel to and from New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, on Thursday after a couple in Sydney with no links to high-risk professions or people tested positive for COVID-19.

However, state health officials on Saturday reported a second straight day without a new case, allaying concerns about a wider outbreak in the city.

New Zealand COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said travel to and from NSW, home to one-third of Australia's 25 million population, would resume after health officials determined the risk to New Zealand was low.

"New Zealand has consistently taken a precautionary approach to keeping COVID-19 out," Hipkins said in a statement.Australia and New Zealand began allowing quarantine-free travel less than a month ago, after a protracted run of zero locally-acquired cases in the neighbouring countries."Border controls are a key tool for stopping the introduction and spread of new cases from overseas and remain central to our elimination strategy," Hipkins said.Australia has meanwhile barred travel from India due to high infection rates, but it has said it would begin chartering repatriation flights on May 15//CNA

Lava avalanches from the summit of Mt Merapi viewed from Turi, Sleman District of Yogyakarta on April 25, 2021. ANTARA PHOTO/Hendra Nurdiyansyah/wsj - 

Volcanic activity at Mount Merapi, straddling Central Java and Yogyakarta, remained high, according to the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center’s (BPPTKG's) monitoring from April 30 to May 6.

"Volcanic activity at Mt Merapi remains high, with effusive eruption. The volcano's status remained at siaga (watch)," BPPTKG Head Hanik Humaida noted in a statement here on Saturday.

According to the monitoring, Humaida remarked that the monitoring found Merapi to have emitted searing clouds 12 times that drifted nearly two thousand meters to the southwest.

Incandescent avalanches were recorded 74 times up to a distance of two thousand meters to the southwest and twice to a distance of 600 meters to the southeast, Humaida revealed.

"Seismic intensity this week has increased as compared to that of last week," she added.According to the agency, the volume of Merapi's two lava domes had continued to increase at a rate of 17 thousand cubic meters per day, and currently, the volume had reached 1.7 million cubic meters.

According to photo analysis, volume of the lava dome in the southwest had reached 1.1 million cubic meters, and growth rate was recorded at 17 thousand cubic meters per day.

The volcano's deformation, monitored through EDM and GPS this week, did not show abridgement of 0.6 cm per day. "There is no report on the lava and increased currents of the rivers that upstream in Merapi," she stated.

The BPPTKG has maintained the volcano's status at siaga (watch), or level 3 of Indonesia’s four-tiered alert system.

The authority has urged residents to remain vigilant of the potential for lava avalanches and hot clouds arising from the volcano in the southwest region covering the Kuning River, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih.

Mount Merapi’s eruption could launch volcanic material to as far as three kilometers away from the summit//CNA