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Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto presented an award to the family of a medical worker who died while performing duties to fight against COVID-19.

Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto has bestowed awards to honor medical workers who died while performing their duties to treat COVID-19 patients and handed out cash compensation to their families.

"Let me offer our deep sorrow and high honor to all medical workers who had worked hard and highly devoted themselves to fight against the COVID-19," he said in a press statement of the Health Ministry on Friday.

The awards and cash compensation were handed over to the families of late dr Adi Mirsaputra, Sp. THT working for Restu Kasih Rumah Keluarga Hospital and late dr Mikhael Robert Marampe working for Permata Bunda Hospital in Bekasi, West Java.

The minister said he represented President Joko Widodo to hand over the cash compensation and bestow the awards to honor the medical workers who died while fulfilling their duties to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state will not forget the services of medical workers who have died of the COVID and are still fighting against the spread of the virus, he said.

"Let us pray that this non-natural disaster will pass soon," he added.

The minister also symbolically handed over incentives to an anesthesiologist of Fatmawati Hospital in Jakarta for the medical workers of the hospital.

Head of the Human Resource Development and Empowerment of the Health Ministry Prof dr Kadir said the ministry also made payments for claims from hospital treating COVID-19 patients. at the hospital

"The awards, compensations and incentives are form of the government's appreciation to those who risk their lives in fulfilling their duties to handle the COVID-19," Kadir said.

Earlier, the government also bestowed the "Bintang Jasa" (Stars of Service) awards to honor doctors and nurses, who died while fulfilling their duties to handle the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

"These awards mark our deep sorrow (for the fallen health workers) and highest respect for all medical personnel, who are at the forefront in the fight of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia," presidential spokesman Fadjroel Rachman stated in Jakarta recently.

President Joko Widodo presented the 22 Stars to the families of the 13 doctors and nine nurses, who died in the line of duty.

Of the 22 medical personnel, nine were honored with the Pratama (Primary) Star awards, while 13 were presented the Nararya (Glorified) Stars.

Indonesia reported 2,317 additional recoveries from the COVID-19 on Friday (August 21), taking the total tally to 102,991, according to the Task Force for the Handling of COVID-19.


The number of new cases touched 2,197, bringing the nationwide COVID-19 case count to 149,408, Meanwhile, with 82 more people succumbing to the virus, the death toll reached 6,500. (ANTARA)

A white sandy beach on Ranoh Isle in Batam Municipality, Riau Islands Province. (Naim)

The Batam City Tourism Office has outlined a target to draw foreign tourists especially from Europe.

"We are optimistic of being able to penetrate the European market," Ardiwinata, head of the Batam City Tourism Office, stated in Batam, Riau Islands, on Friday.

During an online discussion with the Visit Indonesia Tourism Office (VITO), or Indonesian tourism officers overseas, in the Netherlands and France, it was highlighted that European tourists were known to love traveling to tropical islands, being drawn to nature tourism and local culture.

Batam has over 300 islands, with white sandy beaches and natural mangrove forests. The Batam Sea also has a profuse underwater ecosystem, replete with vibrant corals and a plethora of fish species.

Batam has a distinctive advantage as it is relatively easy to access owing to its proximity to Singapore that has flight routes to various countries in Europe.

It only takes a few hours by sea from Singapore to reach the exotic islands in Batam, thereby making it easier for travelers, according to Ardiwinata.

"Batam has everything that European tourists are looking for. Our opportunities are clearly huge," Ardiwinata stated.

However, Ardiwinata did acknowledge existing challenges in drawing European tourists, as they have tastes and preferences that differ from Asian tourists. Most of Batam’s tour agents are accustomed to catering to Asian tourists, he added.

European tourists prefer long vacations, while Asian travelers prefer short visits, he pointed out.

Moreover, European tourists generally plan their holidays well in advance, even as far as two years beforehand, while Asian tourists are more spontaneous, according to Ardiwinata. (ANTARA)

Recovered COVID-19 patients at the Raja Ahmad Thabib General Hospital in Riau Islands Province. (Ogen)

Indonesia reported 2,317 additional recoveries from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Friday, taking the total tally to 102,991, according to the Task Force for the Handling of COVID-19.

The number of new cases touched 2,197, bringing the nationwide COVID-19 case count to 149,408, Meanwhile, with 82 more people succumbing to the virus, the death toll reached 6,500.

In terms of the distribution of cases, Jakarta recorded the highest number of new infections at 657. Meanwhile, 433 patients recovered from COVID-19 and 15 others succumbed to the disease in the province.

East Java was next with 458 new cases, 414 recoveries, and 30 deaths, followed by East Kalimantan, which recorded 195 new cases, 53 recoveries, and 5 deaths.

South Sulawesi reported 98 new confirmed cases, 90 recoveries, and no deaths; Central Java 96 new cases, 100 recoveries, and 5 deaths; West Java 93 new cases, 122 recoveries, and 8 deaths; and, Bali 76 new cases, 63 recoveries, and no deaths.

Meanwhile, eight provinces reported less than 10 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours. Three provinces recorded zero cases of COVID-19 on Friday — North Maluku, Maluku, and East Nusa Tenggara.

The task force also reported a total of 78,877 suspected cases of COVID-19. It said 485 districts/cities in 34 provinces have been exposed to the disease.

On Friday, 19,929 samples were analyzed using the polymerase chain reaction and molecular rapid tests, taking the total number of samples tested to 1,989,870. (ANTARA)

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto (front) held a coordination meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali on Friday (Aug 21, 2020) to discuss the strategic program and policies to handle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. ANTARA/HO-Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs/sh

Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto shed light on measures to expedite state expenditure through programs to drive economic growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2020.

"This will help in bringing about a recovery in Indonesia's economy and steer it in the direction of positive growth," Hartarto noted during a coordination meeting held in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Friday to discuss the strategic program and policies to handle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.

In his statement, the minister noted that efforts will be made to accelerate state expenditure in some areas, including in the manpower sector, through the issuance of the pre-employment card, with the fifth batch underway.

In its earlier four batches, over 13 million people had applied for the card, nine million had conducted email verification, while seven million others have had their citizenship registration number (NIK) validated.

In the food and agriculture sector, the government has encouraged gross domestic product growth in the sector in the second quarter of 2020, as it began registering a positive growth of 2.19 percent.

The government has also developed a food estate in a swamp area in Central Kalimantan to establish a modern and sustainable food production system to boost food resilience and improve the farmers' welfare.

This year, the government is targeting to develop 30 thousand hectares of food estate in the region.

The minister pointed out that in order to lend a positive sentiment to investors and accelerate economic recovery in trade and industry, the government had encouraged investment facilities in taxation and non-taxation, land availability, and infrastructure.

For micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSME), the government had expedited the disbursement of productive aid and micro loans for laid-off workers' housewives keen on starting a business.

In the field of research and innovations, the government will forge cooperation with state enterprises and private companies in the pharmaceutical industry for mass production of the vaccine.

During the 2020-2024 period, Hartarto affirmed that some of the national strategic projects (PSN) were implemented with the labor-intensive program that involved 209,139 people.

The projects comprised the construction of dams, irrigation system, toll road, clean water facility, sanitation, airport, port, railway, and regional infrastructure.

The government has also forged cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and South Korea to impose the travel corridor arrangement (TCA).

TCA is a short-visit facility for businesspersons and diplomats keen on continuing bilateral cooperation in investment and business projects in adherence with the health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Currently, the Indonesian government is in discussions with China over the TCA," Hartarto added. (ANTARA)