VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia received 300 disinfectant sprayers from South Korea to help stem the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country. As quoted by Antara News Agency, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kim Chang Beom symbolically handed over the humanitarian aid to Harmensyah, general secretary of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), as the coordinator of the COVID-19 Response Task Force in Indonesia, at the BNPB building in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Harmensyah stated on behalf of the Indonesian government, task force, and the entire Indonesian nation, Indonesia  express its great gratitude (to the South Korean government) for the assistance and close cooperation with Indonesia. May this assistance be helpful in Indonesian efforts to fight COVID-19. The government will soon distribute it to the people in need. He affirmed that the Indonesian government is still open to receiving assistance in the form of protective gear and ventilators//Ant

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Government will allow regional administrations to apply large-scale social restrictions to stem the spread of the new coronavirus disease as physical distancing has not been effective due to lack of public discipline.

"Physical distancing, which is the key to successful controlling of the transmission of COVID-19, needs to be strengthened since, in the past few days, it has been impeded by a lack of public discipline. Therefore, the government is letting regional administrations propose large-scale social distancing," spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Ahmad Yurianto, said on Wednesday at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) building in Jakarta.

By allowing regional governments to apply large-scale social restrictions, physical distancing can be implemented more effectively in the country, he said.

"With large-scale social distancing (measures in place), the public will be encouraged to be disciplined," he said.

Large-scale social distancing measures should not be misconstrued as prohibitions, but seen as restrictions, he said adding that the public must keep in mind that coronavirus carriers are humans.

"The spread of the coronavirus runs parallel to the activities of human beings and that must be restricted,” he said.

The restrictions are necessary since many positive coronavirus patients show no or minimal symptoms, he clarified. It is possible that people who feel healthy but have been exposed to the virus are continuing to mingle in the community, he continued.

"On the other hand, many vulnerable people are still ignoring physical distancing and are not washing hands, so the transmission of the disease has continued. That is the reason why the government is intending to strengthen it (social distancing)," he said. (antara)

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought several countries to a near standstill, as activities involving the congregation of public, including music concerts, sports games, conferences, tourism bourses, and festivals, are either postponed or cancelled. The fourth simultaneous regional head elections (pilkada), earlier scheduled for September this year, was another major event that was postponed owing to the coronavirus outbreak. The simultaneous pilkada was planned to be held in 270 regions across the country to elect governors in nine provinces, district heads in 224 districts, and mayors in 37 cities on September 23, 2020. The number of eligible voters in the fourth pilkada reached at least 105 million. The decision to postpone pilkada was made during a hearing of Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR), with attendees comprising officials of the Home Affairs Ministry, Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU), General Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), and the Code of Ethic Council for the Implementation of Elections (DKPP) in Jakarta on March 30, 2020//Ant

Research and Technology Minister/Chairman of National Agency for Research and Innovation Bambang P.S. Brodjonegoro believes it would take at least a year to conduct research and development to come up with coronavirus vaccination in Indonesia. However, minister Brodjonegoro pointed to vaccines developed overseas that can then be produced in Indonesia. In addition to vaccines, the COVID-19 Consortium Team is prioritizing the development of supplements from various raw materials in Indonesia to maintain body immunity. According to the minister, the team had also conducted a study on COVID-19 drugs, one of which being quinine pills that bore similarities to Chloroquine, a malaria drug//Ant