VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Calls to mental health services have increased since the outbreak of coronavirus. But with physical visits to support services dropping due to social-distancing rules, Australians are not taking advantage of the extra services now available to them. Authorities are now urging people to make use of the resources available over the phone and online. Mental health services are part of a $1.1 billion funding boost designed to protect against widespread impacts from the pandemic. A million telehealth mental health consultations worth $35 million had taken place since mid-March, that was stated by Prime Minister Morrison during a press conference on Wednesday (29/04/20) in Australia.

"I noted that there was a 74 million dollars package that was putting place at the early stages of covid 19 outbreak and those packages support has been rolling out across the country and has been get a very good result. 50 percent of mental health consultation is now being done through telehealth as a result of the telehealth changes that we’ve made. And 1 million telehealth, mental health consultation have taken place since mid march and some 35 million dollar spesifically in mental heallth related consultation have been conducted over periode of time since telethealth was putting in place" Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister added that the stay at home has been important but it does come with an increase in anxiety and an increase in pressure on individuals, their mental stress, and that also takes a toll, that’s why Australian Government prepares services to handle the issue. On the same occasion, National Health Commission CEO Christine Morgan said people need to reach out on mental health online services.

"We did come in to this scenario, we did come in to Covid 19 with mental health challenges many of us, with mental health illness. You do still need to contact your mental health services, you can do it now through telethealth, you can do it to the digital services but part of getting through this whole crisis is the way we actually address our mental health and our well being so reach out we will continue to do that" Christine Morgan explain.  

She added that Last month, Beyond Blue received $10 million from a $75 million federal mental health package for a dedicated mental health support service. It offers free information, counselling and referrals online and over the phone. Resources at Head to Health were boosted at the end of March and the website had seen an "enormous" spike in visits. The website brings together a range of apps, online programs, online forums, and resources in one location//NK.

At least 98 of more than 500 foreign nationals monitored by the Indonesian Government as part of efforts to contain coronavirus transmission have tested positive for the disease. As quoted by Antara,  Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in a virtual press conference  on Wednesday explained the Indonesian Foreign Ministry has been communicating with embassies of foreign citizens diagnosed with COVID-19 and informing them of their condition.  Marsudi did not reveal the countries of origin of infected foreigners. She said 306 of the foreign nationals were under monitoring, 144 others had fully recovered from the coronavirus, and 15 had died. As of April 29, 2020, the government has recorded 9,771 confirmed COVID-19 cases across the country. While 1,391 patients have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery, 7,596 others remain hospitalized. The death toll from the virus has been recorded at 784//Ant

The Ministry of Trade will provide protective gear and set up disinfection chambers at 157 markets in six provinces of Indonesia, including DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Banten, and Yogyakarta Special Region. As quoted by Antara News Agency, Minister of Trade, Agus Suparmanto, in a video conference held on Wednesday in Jakarta explained to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Trade will give aid in the form of health facilities to public markets, including setting up disinfection chambers, and handing out hand sanitizers, masks, and gloves that will be prioritized for sellers and buyers. Especially in DKI Jakarta, the Ministry will provide such aid to 20 public markets, including the Kramat Jati Market. Furthermore, in order to raise awareness about handling COVID-19, the Ministry of Trade will create a 'Trade Ministry Care Task Force' to collect donations from all workers and the general public//Ant

President Joko Widodo has implemented five schemes under a program to protect Micro Small Medium Enterprises ( MSMEs )and aid their financial recovery, including special programs for ultra-micro and micro-businesses not yet serviced by banks and financial institutions. As quoted by Antara News Agency, President Joko Widodo said in a virtual limited meeting from the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday that  the discussion (on MSME programs) has increasingly narrowed and there are five major schemes (that have been implemented). According to the President, the first scheme is meant for SMEs classified under the poor and vulnerable group amid the COVID-19 outbreak//Ant