Jakarta (VOI News) - 

The Government of Indonesia through the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Jeddah has tried many efforts to protect Indonesian citizens in Jeddah amid quarantine steps taken by the Saudi Arabian government in curbing the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

This was revealed by the Indonesian Consul General in Jeddah Eko Hartono to Voice of Indonesia via telephone on Monday (30/03).

Eko Hartono said a number of Indonesian citizens in Jeddah felt the direct impact of the Saudi Arabian government policy. One of those affected is Indonesian citizens who work in Saudi Arabia and rely on daily salary income.

“What we are really worried about is that they are primarily our Indonesian Migrant Workers who are daily workers. This is our concern. Those who have to depend their lives on this poor daily work, for example a driver. Now, drivers can't work, and so can taxi drivers, bus drivers. They all become our concern. There are 168 something legal igrant workers in Jeddah, while the number of the illegal one is almost three folds, around 500 or 600 thousand. Well we are not sure about the faith of the illegal workers,” Eko Hartono said.

As of Monday, there were 1453 positive cases of Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia. Of these, 8 people died, while 115 others were cured.

The Saudi Arabian government had previously imposed the closure of a number of crowd points in order to reduce mass build-up in an area. The Saudi Arabian government has even imposed a curfew from 15 to 6 so that the spread of Covid-19 can be suppressed. (VOI/Ndy/AHM)

Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) recorded Indonesia’s inflation rate at 0.10 percent in March 2020 (month-on-month), so inflation for the calendar year of March 2020 reached 0.76 percent, while March 2020 annual inflation touched 2.96 percent.

"The figure is below three percent, so I can conclude that inflation in March 2020 was under control," BPS Head Suhariyanto remarked while holding a video press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Inflation occurred due to price hikes, including the prices of food, beverage, and tobacco that went up by 0.10 percent; cost of clothing and footwear that surged by 0.12 percent; housing, water, electricity, and household fuels, by 0.02 percent; and household appliances, equipment, and routine maintenance, by 0.28 percent.

However, deflation was experienced in transportation services, notably by 0.43 percent, and information, communication, and financial services, by 0.09 percent. On the other hand, education services remained unchanged.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) monitored by BPS in 90 cities indicated that 43 cities had experienced inflation, while 47 cities witnessed a deflation.

Lhokseumawe, Aceh Province, clocked the highest inflation rate, at 0.64 percent, mainly due to a sharp surge in the prices of fish and gold.

The highest deflation rate occurred in Timika, Papua Province, at minus 1.91 percent, caused by a plunge in the prices of air tickets, contributing 0.77 percent to the deflation rate. (ANTARA)

Pekanbaru, Riau - Riau Governor Syamsuar has called on the provincial government's health workers to prioritize the administration of rapid test kits on Indonesian migrant workers returning home from Malaysia owing to the neighboring country's lockdown policy.

"I urge the provincial health authority to prepare rapid test kits for 448 people under surveillance in Pekanbaru. They will simultaneously get the tests on Thursday," he noted in a press statement that ANTARA received in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Wednesday.

Governor Syamsuar urged his people to understand the priority given to returning migrant workers since their number tended to increase by the day. Those returning from Malaysia are categorized as people under surveillance.

In addition, several residents of Riau Province returned home from various cities in Java Island, including Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta, which had confirmed COVID-19 cases. They were also to be placed under surveillance, he pointed out.

The Riau Health Office's data, as of Wednesday morning, indicated 16,694 people under surveillance and 115 patients under surveillance, he stated, adding that the results of the rapid tests were expected to be known soon.

Those diagnosed with symptoms of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) would immediately be quarantined or hospitalized, Riau Governor Syamsuar remarked.

On Tuesday, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) cautioned that several countries that had been able to flatten the curve of their confirmed COVID-19 cases are currently challenged by imported cases that had overseas travel records.

China, South Korea, and Singapore are among the countries currently facing what he terms as a novel wave of the new coronavirus disease-related threats.

In connection with this problem, the government has reiterated the significance of handling the mobility of Indonesians and foreigners arriving in the country, he said.

"Our priority is, now, not just handling the mobility of our people in Indonesia but also tackling the COVID-19 risks posed by those arriving from overseas trips," he noted, adding that COVID-19 cases were found in 202 countries and territories.

Over this past week, the COVID-19 epicenters had also moved, from mainland China to the United States and several European countries.

Hence, President Jokowi reiterated the significance of strengthening policies on handling the inflows of foreign nationals and Indonesians arriving from overseas travel.

As of Tuesday (March 31), Indonesia had 1,528 confirmed cases of which 81 were discharged from hospitals, while 136 others died of this deadly virus.  (ANTARA)

As many as 14 Indonesian nationals who were undergoing treatment in Japan, Spain, Singapore, and the Netherlands after testing positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have made a complete recovery, the Foreign Ministry said.

Nine Indonesians have recovered from the deadly virus in Japan, one in Spain, three in Singapore, and one in the Netherlands, the ministry said in a statement released via its Instagram account (safetravel.kemlu) on Tuesday.

As of 8 a.m. on Tuesday (March 31, 2020),133 Indonesian nationals have tested positive for the coronavirus outside the country — 34 in Malaysia, 34 in Singapore, four in Italy, five in Vatican, three in Vietnam, three in the Netherlands, one in Ireland, one in the United Kingdom, two in Qatar, six in Saudi Arabia, two in the United Arab Emirates, 14 in India, two in Cambodia, one in the Philippines, two in Australia, three in Brunei Darussalam, one in Macau, and three in Taiwan. All nine Indonesians who contracted the coronavirus infection in Japan are reported to have recovered, according to the ministry. (ANTARA)