VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Two Indonesian citizens were positively infected with the corona (Corona-19 ) virus. The news was announced directly by President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta on  Monday (2/3).  During the press conference in the company of Health Minister Agus Putranto, the president conveyed that the confirmation of the two Indonesia citizens infected by the corona virus was due to the fact that they had met with Japanese citizen who was also suffering from corona virus.

"Last week , there was information that there were Japanese people who visited Indonesia and then stayed in Malaysia and when they were  checked in the country, they were positively infected. The team from Indonesia directly traced the Japanese people on persons they had met during their visit to  Indonesia and finally found the the result.  They come to a conclusion that  the  Japanese citizens  who have been affected by the Corona virus kept in touch  with 2 people in Indonesia, a mother who is 64 years old and her daughter who is 31 years old. While they were checked by Indonesian team, apparently they were in a sick condition. And in that morning I got a report from the Minister of Health, in fact the mother and her  daughter are positive Corona" President said. 

Furthermore,  Head of State assured that  the mother and her daughter have been in a safe handling at the Sulianti Saroso Infection Hospital. President Jokowi guarantees that the government is ready to handle corona virus patients. The medical tools are based on  international standards which have also been prepared to treat corona virus patients. However the budget to overcome the corona virus has also been allocated//(VOI/pradipta/edit r) Trans: AF

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. (ANTARA)

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita is optimistic of Indonesia's industry sector investment growth after the IHS Markit released Indonesia's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) at 51.9 on February, an increase from January's reading of 49.3. Indonesia's PMI had been contracted for seven straight months since June 2019, and the increase in February's reading above 50 points has indicated expansion in the manufacturing sector.

"Based on the report, we are optimistic about investors' confidence in the industry sector. They also see that the business climate in Indonesia remains conducive," Kartasasmita said in a statement in Jakarta Monday.

Indonesia's Manufacturing PMI in February was boosted by new businesses and acceleration in output expansion that required companies to recruit more workers and increase purchasing activities, according to IHS Markit.

The IHS Markit Indonesia Manufacturing PMI measures the performance of the manufacturing sector and is derived from a survey of 400 manufacturing companies, divided into eight categories namely base metal, chemical and plastic, electricity and optical, food and beverages, machinery, textile and garment, wood and paper, and transportation.

The Index is based on five individual indexes namely new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times, and stock of items purchased, with the delivery times index inverted so that it moves in a comparable direction.

A reading above 50 indicates an expansion of the manufacturing sector compared to the previous month; below 50 represents a contraction; while 50 indicates no change.

Previously, the minister has expressed optimism that non-oil and gas industry performance in the first quarter of 2020 would still be in the expansion phase, hence it would need strategic moves to drive the sector's global competitiveness.

"Among the strategic moves is maintaining the adequacy of raw material and energy for production continuity in industry," he said.

The ministry has also focused on a program to promote the use of domestic products and encourage investment in the sector through simplification of licensing, promotion and incentive.

"In the next five years, we have identified an investment plan in 81 projects in industry sector worth Rp921 trillion and will absorb 125 thousand workers," he said.

The strategic moves would help Indonesia to reach its target of 5.3 percent of non-oil and gas industry growth in 2020 that will give 17.8 percent contribution to the national Gross Domestic Production in the year, Kartasasmita said.

Export of industrial products is expected to contribute 72.2 percent to the national export in 2020.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's manufacturing sector has shown tentative improvement in February, marking the first growth in factory activity in eight months, Head of IHS Markit economist Bernard Aw said.

However, the increased index is still affected by negative shocks in the supply chain.

"There are worries over the supply chain. Data of the survey showed a sharp decline in suppliers' performance for almost three years, often linked to torrential rains and declining raw material supply from China due to the coronavirus outbreak," he said.

If such a condition persists, companies would need to work harder to increase the production volume amid the input scarcity.

The coronavirus outbreak has severely hit manufacturing performance in some Asian countries after it crushed the sector's activity in China, he admitted.

South Korea and Japan have shown a sharp drop in production, based on the IHS Markit survey.

South Korea's PMI dropped to its lowest level in four months at 48.7 in February, from 49.8 in January. Japan's index declined to 47.8 according to Japan's Jibun Bank, the lowest level since May 2016.

In Southeast Asia, the index for Thailand and Malaysia remained at below 50, while Vietnam declined to its lowest level for six years to 49. The data has indicated that the coronavirus outbreak has affected the Asian region, disturbed the supply chain and undermined demand. (ANTARA)

Paramedics at the Jakarta-based Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital wear medical masks. ANTARA

Indonesian Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said on Monday that two Indonesians who tested positive for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remained in good condition, and have not displayed symptoms, such as fever and shortness of breath.

"I have observed them, and checked their condition. They are in good condition. They do not suffer fever and shortness of breath. Nothing. They eat and communicate well," he told journalists at the Jakarta-based Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital.

The two COVID-19 patients are being treated in an isolated room at a different building within this infectious diseases hospital's complex area, he said.

According to Minister Putranto, the two Indonesians are residents of Depok City, West Java, a neighboring area of Jakarta.

The patients -- a 64-year-old mother and her 31-year-old daughter -- had contracted coronavirus from a Japanese national who had visited Indonesia and was in close contact with them.

The Japanese citizen was confirmed positive for COVID-19 infection while in Malaysia, having left Indonesia.

The Indonesian Government has been putting in place precautionary measures since the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak that first struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of December 2019.

In addition to installing thermal scanners at the country's airports and seaports, and making preparations at hospitals across the archipelago, the Indonesian Government had also repatriated several hundreds of its citizens.

On Feb 2, 238 Indonesian nationals had been airlifted from Wuhan, China, to then be quarantined in Natuna District's area in Riau Islands Province. All of them were found to be healthy and sent back to their families.

The Indonesian Government has also repatriated 188 Indonesians employed as crew members of the cruise ship World Dream liner, and 69 Indonesians employed as cabin crew members of the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

The World Dream cruise ship's crew members have been sent to Sebaru Kecil Island, Jakarta's Thousand Islands, for a 14-day quarantine, while 69 others are to be brought to the same island this week.

The deadly virus outbreak, which has infected 65 countries, including Indonesia, has killed at least 3,000 people -- most of whom are in China, and infected over 88,400 people worldwide. (ANTARA)

Repatriation process of Indonesians who were working as crew members of the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, Sunday (1/3/2020). (Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo)

Jakarta - Some 69 Indonesian crew members of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked in Yokohama, Japan, over the spread of COVID-19, will soon be back to their home country.

On Sunday, Tokyo time, the Indonesian crew members who had been quarantined for more than two weeks on the ship, began the process of returning home.

After having lunch provided by the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo, the Indonesian nationals left the ship one by one, and had their body temperatures measured.

Those whose body temperatures are higher than the number set by the Indonesian Health Protocols were asked to return to the ship, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

A total of 69 Indonesian citizens aboard  the Diamond Princess cruise ship, who voluntarily participated in the repatriation process, left the ship using a bus. A  Garuda Indonesia plane was waiting to fly them back to the country.

The aircraft is due to depart from Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Sunday at 6 p.m. local time, and is expected to arrive at Kertajati Airport, West Java, around 12:30 am, Western Indonesia Time.

Furthermore, the dozens of Indonesian citizens will be taken to the port of PLTU Indramayu to go to the observation site on Sebaru Kecil Island, Thousand Islands, using sea transportation.

The Joint Team consisting of officers from the Indonesian Military Force, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo, is fully supported by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Japanese health officials during the repatriation process. (ANTARA)