VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta - The Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh has called on Indonesian residents in Saudi Arabia not to travel to Macca and Medina for the time being amid the ongoing concerns over the spread of novel coronavirus diseases.

"Until this time, the Saudi government still bans Muslims from all over the world from performing umrah (minor hajj) pilgrimage," the embassy revealed in a press statement received by ANTARA News Agency in Jakarta, on Sunday.

The temporary ban is imposed on the Saudi residents and expatriates who stay inside and outside the two cities, the Indonesian embassy said.

The Saudi authorities also restrict the arrivals of flights from United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain at three international airports -- King Khalid, King Abdulaziz, and King Fahd in Dammam.

This latest policy has been made effective since March 7, 2020. On the same day, the Saudi Ministry of Sports also prevent people from attending sporting events.

Over such ongoing concerns regarding the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak which has killed more than 3,600 people and infected at least 106,400 people all over the world, the Saudi Government has been banning the inflow of foreign umrah pilgrims since February 27.

Among the countries reporting confirmed COVID-19 cases are nations with Muslim-majority populations, including the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Oman, Egypt, and Indonesia.

Indonesia respected the decision saying that it is aimed to prioritize the Saudi citizens' health and safety amid the spread of COVID-19 that continues to lead to rising number of casualties.

"We respect (the decision), as the Saudi Arabian government is prioritizing health," President Joko Widodo stated recently.

Early this week, Indonesia's Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi affirmed that preparations for the Hajj pilgrimage in 2020 had run as scheduled, notwithstanding the global uncertainty over the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Preparations are still on for the Hajj pilgrimage, and no changes are expected," Razi stated.

Saudi Arabia, where the Islamic Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina are located, is a destination for Muslims worldwide that are keen to perform Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. (ANTARA)

Residents of Galang Island, Batam City, Riau Islands Province, have asked the government to guarantee their health and safety if a special infectious disease hospital is to be built on the former refugee camp island.

"We ask the government to guarantee public health and safety," Suherman, Chairperson of the Rempang Galang Association, said on the sidelines of a free medical service activity, organized by the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian Police (Polri), here on Sunday.

Suherman, who earlier objected the plan to build the hospital on Galang, later agreed with the plan but he hoped that the existence of a special infectious disease hospital will later have a positive impact on the local people.

The establishment of a hospital is believed to be able to improve the economy of the Galang community, he hoped.

He also hoped that public health services will be improved.

He urged that the construction and operation of the hospital to involve local people, in accordance with their skills and capabilities.

"In accordance with the capability and skills of local people. They could be nurses, doctors, security officers. It must involve the locals," he said.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Suleman, chairman of NGO, LPM Sijantung, was optimistic that the presence of a special hospital would help progress on Galang Island.

Public welfare will increase with the construction of health facilities on Galang Island.

"As society, we always support the government programs," he said.

Jakarta - The Indonesian government has entrusted the State Logistics Board (Bulog) with importing 100 thousand tons of buffalo meat to cater to domestic requirements, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated.

The decision to import buffalo meat was reached at a coordination meeting between the Trade Ministry, Agriculture Ministry, and Bulog at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Jakarta on Friday.

Bulog Director for Business and Industrial Development Bachtiar noted that the 100 thousand tons of buffalo meat will be imported within a one-year period.

In the near future, Bulog will import 25 thousand tons of buffalo meat from India to fulfill the demand during the fasting month of Ramadhan and the subsequent Eid al-Fitr festivities that will fall in April and May 2020.

"We plan to import buffalo meat (from India). During this period of time, we will import 20 thousand tons to cater to the demand during the Eid al-Fitr festivities. It is expected to arrive (in Indonesia) in April," he stated.

Bulog currently holds one thousand tons of buffalo meat in stock, excluding that at distributors. The agency is awaiting an import permit from the Trade Ministry, he revealed.

Soon after the Trade Ministry issues the permit, Bulog will import buffalo meat from India, he confirmed.

"The permit will be issued soon," he stated.

Based on the result of the National Socio-Economic Survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2019, per capita beef/buffalo meat consumption had reached 2.66 kilograms per year. The demand for beef/buffalo meat until May 2020 is projected to reach 302,300 tons.

In the meantime, national production of beef/buffalo meat until May 2020 is expected to touch 165,478 tons. (ANTARA)

Government spokesman for the control of Covid-19 Achmad Yurianto. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - The number of suspected coronavirus patients in Indonesia has reached 11 as of Saturday afternoon, according to a government spokesman for the control of Covid-19 Achmad Yurianto.

One of the 11 patients suspected of having contracted the Covid-19 infection came in close contact with the first confirmed Covid-19 patient living in Jakarta's southern outskirts of Depok, Yurianto, concurrently secretary of the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Health Ministry, stated.

"(The Covid-19 suspected patient) in Bandung is part of cluster number one. Up until now, (the guy) is still a suspected patient," he stated at the Presidential Palace compounds.

"(The guy) had come in close contact with patient number one," he noted.

Specimens from the patient, with suspected Covid-19, will be tested using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Genome Sequencingmethods to check for positive result indicating that the guy had contracted coronavirus, he remarked.

Yurianto noted that some of the 11 patients suspected of having contracted Covid-19 infection are part of the first and second clusters of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia. One of the suspected Covid-19 patients is a crew member of the Diamond Princess cruise liner.

However, he chose to not furnish details on the hospitals where the 11 Covid-19 suspected patients are undergoing treatment.

He said the health condition of the first and second Covid-19 suspected patients is showing improvement. They will only undergo laboratory testing. The results of two laboratory tests show that they are free from coronavirus, and they will be allowed to return home.

The health condition of the third and fourth patients positively diagnosed for Covid-19 on Friday has also shown improvement, he added. (ANTARA)