VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Hidayatullah Muttaqin, a member of the Lampung Mangkurat University Expert Team for the COVID-19 Handling, said to keep growing the number of PCR tests for COVID-19 because new positive cases have not yet sloped down.

"The number of national PCR tests only 1.62 million people or reached 6,019 tests per one million population. This is very low if you see the trend of increasing positive cases," he said in Banjarmasin, on Friday.

Hidayatullah said the low growth of new COVID-19 cases in parts of Indonesia, including the reduced number of areas with red zone status, may be related to the low ratio of PCR tests.

This means that the growth of new cases has the potential not to reflect the growth of real cases. For this reason, increasing the number of PCR tests massively is needed to detect residents infected with COVID-19.

As of September 16, there were over 770,000 people who had undergone PCR tests, so that the test ratio had reached 72,864 per one million people.

"The massive number of tests in Jakarta is the reason why the COVID-19 in Jakarta is higher than in other areas in Indonesia. This is the right step and should be emulated by other regions," he said.

"It is time for local governments to take an open stance in their efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Because it is getting more closed, especially allergies with the addition of new cases through massive testing, it becomes a time bomb that becomes a big threat in the future," he said.

"Besides a strict application of health protocols, population mobility control policies are very important to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19," he said. (Antaranews)

Indonesia's daily Covid-19 cases is sitting at 3,000 and above.

After previously re-setting a record on Wednesday with 3,963 cases, the country noted 3,635 cases on Thursday, the highest since the first Covid-19 case on March 2.

This figure exceeds the previous highest figure on Sept. 10, 2020 which noted 3,861 cases.

The Covid-19 Task Force updated the tally through its official website. The data revealed the total confirmed cases is 232,628. There are 56,720 active cases, or 24.4% of the total.

As many as 166,686 or 71.7% are recovery cases, and 9,222 or 4.0% are death cases. (RRI)

Jakarta. Over 200 Indonesian Muslim pilgrims are still stuck in India because of the lockdown in the country.

"Our team, especially at the Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi and the Indonesian Consulate General in Mumbai, will continue to work hard to get 237 other pilgrims," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a press statement on Thursday.

Retno explained that the pilgrims are spread across several states in India, including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, New Delhi, Maharashtra, Kamataka, Bihar, and Jharkhand.

The ministry has repatriated 122 pilgrims on Wednesday.

"Thank God, they arrived safely in Jakarta this morning. With their return, we have successfully repatriated 515 pilgrims or 2/3 of the total pilgrims in India," Retno said.

She said this issue was the focus of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia-India Meeting, at the ASEAN meeting last Saturday. All delegations, especially the Indian Foreign Minister, responded well.

"Because this is the context that ASEAN and pilgrims are not only come from Indonesia but also from other ASEAN countries, so I called out to help the pilgrims to return to their respective countries. the Indian Foreign Minister responded well," she said.

Previously, more from 700 Indonesian Muslim pilgrims went to India to attend the annual meeting of the Islamic organization on March 3, 2020. Before they had time to return to their homeland, the government of India locked down the country.

The event was followed in over 80 countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, to the United States. (RRI)

Jakarta. The Transportation Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) collaborates with the University of Indonesia (UI) in strengthening air transportation health standards.

"The study of health standards is designed to conform to health protocols. According to the rules set by the COVID-19 Task Force, the Ministry of Health and refers to international regulations," Umiyatun Hayati Triastuti, head of transportation research and development agency for the Ministry of Transportation, said through a written statement received in Jakarta, Friday.

The pandemic is a challenge for the Ministry of Transportation as the regulator in the transportation sector to determine policies according to the situation.

The initial recommendation for passenger health standards at the airport and onboard was the implementation of strict health protocols, monitored by authorized personnel. Also engineered seat arrangement for physical distancing, limitation of passenger capacity, cabin baggage, food distribution, and boarding processes. 

The Ministry of Transportation continues to make improvements in policymaking during the pandemic period, which requires cooperation between transportation stakeholders, including academics.

"For example, in this case, the collaboration between the government and academia is to conduct studies and policy recommendations," he said.

In addition, cooperation between the government, the private sector, airlines, airports, and passengers is compactly focused on mutual improvement and security.

They have implemented health protocols since the beginning of entering the airport until leaving for passengers and cabin crew. One of them is reducing the interaction between passengers and airport officials. This can be done by maximizing the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology by the airport. 

This technology also increases service time (reduced waiting time) including the time of medical examinations on departure and arrival.

All cabin crew and passengers must also use personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of transmission to a low one.

The policies issued by the Ministry of Transportation in the air transportation sector is based on in-depth research studies.

However, cooperation between institutions and the community is needed in obeying the health protocol so its implementation runs optimally. (Antaranews)