VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Bali Governor Wayan Koster said he has secured 700 thousand doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which can be used for inoculating 350 thousand residents in the province.

"Every COVID-19 vaccine recipient will get two shots," he told journalists on the sidelines of a visit to observe a vaccination program in Denpasar on Thursday.

The stock of 700 thousand doses would be administered to about 350 thousand residents in the near future, he informed.

Governor Koster said at least 70 percent of Bali's total population, or three million residents, need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity in the province.

"Thus, we need about six million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to help us create herd immunity. This is what we are requesting from the central government," he informed.

To revive Bali Island's tourism sector, a successful vaccination program is key, said President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) during a visit to the resort island on March 16, 2021.

During the working visit, Widodo predicted that the resort island's tourism sector would begin to revive around the middle of this year.

However, there are preconditions that Bali must fulfill in order to bring its tourism sector back on track, he said.

The President also highlighted the importance of managing the COVID-19 infection rate as it is important to Bali's tourism recovery.

He also underlined the importance of a successful vaccination program and public support for the implementation of health protocols, contact tracing, and self-isolation, he added.

Indonesia has been striving to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since the government officially announced the country's first cases on March 2, 2020.

The government has rolled out a nationwide vaccination program this year to arrest the spread of infections.

According to the Health Ministry, it would take 15 months to vaccinate around 181.5 million people under the national program.

Indonesia's COVID-19 infection rate crossed one million cases on January 26, 2021.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease has dragged Indonesia into serious public health and economic crises.

Tourism has been among the economic sectors severely-affected by COVID-19 in the country, with Bali tourism especially hit hard by the pandemic. (Antaranews)