VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The United States may be ready to start gradually reopening in May, the government's top infectious diseases expert said Sunday, as signs grew that the coronavirus pandemic was peaking. President Donald Trump had earlier wanted the world's largest economy to be "raring to go" by Easter Sunday, but most of the country remained at a standstill and churches took celebrations online to halt the spread of the virus that has killed more than 22,000 people in the US. Trump has cast the decision on when to ease the lockdown as the biggest of his presidency as he faces competing pressures from public health experts and businesses along with some conservative allies who want a swift return to business as usual. Unlike in most Western countries, lockdown decisions are primarily up to local governments, not the president, and leaders of a number of hard-hit, densely populated states have vowed to act as long as necessary//JP

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the public showed high enthusiasm about the pre-employment card program. As of Sunday, April 12, at 4 p.m., there were a total of 1,432,133 registrants. As the chairman of the Job Creation Committee, Airlangga explained that the government ensured the program system, including the server, front-end and back-end system, would run well. Besides, the data and server security would be concerned, too. The first batch of the registration is open until Thursday, April 16, at 4 p.m. If the registration is failed, people are allowed to join the second batch without passing the registration process again.  The approvals of the pre-employment card registration will be announced on Friday, April 17, and the courses could be taken starting Saturday, April 18. The face-to-face training could be done after the evaluation of the safety aspects and health standards//tempo

Jakarta’s official website for the coronavirus mitigation corona.jakarta.go.id recorded a total of 2,082 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday, April 13. Out of the figure, 142 patients had been declared healthy and discharged from hospitals, while 195 patients died. Today marks the fourth day of the implementation of the large-scale social restrictions in the capital. For the last four days, the Jakarta administration had distributed some 20,000 aid packages to the public. Governor Anies Baswedan said the assistance would be provided for 1.2 million poor, vulnerable families. Anies explained the distribution of social assistance during the PSBB would not be based on the population data. He said, if the people have a Jakarta ID Card, their data must be listed in Social Agency’s integrated data basis, if not, make a report to RT/RW (neighboring community) and submit the proposal to the sub-district office//tempo

Japanese authorities are rushing to house thousands of homeless people following the closure of internet cafes in several major cities. The cafes have become a common destination for those without secure housing. They're often open around the clock and many feature private booths, showers and entertainment, including games. But the businesses have been ordered to close their doors to help contain the spread of coronavirus. City officials say they have begun providing them with hotel rooms and other forms of temporary accommodation. In neighboring Saitama, authorities have also repurposed a sports hall for 200 people. Tokyo's government says welfare offices can send homeless residents to designated temporary accommodation, but Kazuhiro Gokan, a consultant with a local homeless support group, told the newspaper that many people had been turned away because of "a misunderstanding among administrators"//bbc