VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Mount Merapi, straddling Yogyakarta and Central Java, erupted 11 times on Monday, spewing incandescent lava that flowed up to 800 meters in the southwest direction based on observation from 00:00 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time.

"Based on observation, (Mount Merapi) released 11 times incandescent lava that flowed up to 800 meters to the southwest," Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG) Hanik Humaida noted in a written statement here on Monday.

During the observation period, Mount Merapi also recorded 30 earthquakes, with an amplitude of 3-8 mm and a duration of 11-67 seconds, as well as two phase earthquakes, with an amplitude of 3-8 mm and lasting for 7.1-7.2 seconds.

No smoke billowed from the crater at the mountain's peak during the observation period.

Weather conditions around the mountain were sunny and overcast. Moderate winds blew to the southeast, with air temperatures of 19-21 degrees Celsius, humidity of 73-90 percent, and air pressure of 872-916 mmHg.

The BPPTKG continues to maintain the alert status of Mount Merapi at Level III.

Mount Merapi’s lava and searing clouds are projected to affect areas in the south to the southwest, comprising Sungai Kuning, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih.

In the meantime, Mount Merapi's volcanic material could flow as far as three kilometers from the mountain's peak. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. India’s richest state, Maharashtra, announced stringent COVID-19 restrictions from Monday, after a rapid rise in infections now accounting for more than half the country’s daily new cases.

An industrialist who attended a meeting with the chief minister before the curbs were announced quoted him as saying that “the situation is grim and there could be shortage of hospital beds, doctors and oxygen cylinders”.

He declined to be named, but the comments echo those of government and health officials to Indian media about the situation in the state, which includes the crowded financial capital Mumbai.

The state will shut shopping malls, cinemas, bars, restaurants and places of worship from Monday evening.

Authorities will also impose a complete lockdown at weekends, Nawab Malik, a minister in the state government, told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Malik said the government would impose a night curfew across the state from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. from Monday, allowing only essential services to operate during those hours.

Millions of migrant workers travel from across India to secure jobs in the western state that accounts for about 16% of India’s economic output.

Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met the industrialists before announcing the restrictions, according to a statement from his office.

Malik said industrial operations such as manufacturing and construction activity would be allowed to continue as usual.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday to review the COVID-19 situation and vaccination programme.

The country reported 93,249 new cases in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, according to data from the federal Health Ministry. Maharashtra, which accounts for less than a 10th of the population, accounted for a record 49,447 new cases.

The state, according to health ministry data, has contributed 57% of total cases and 47% of deaths in the country in the past 14 days.

Ten matches in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament scheduled to be played in Mumbai between April 10-25 will continue as planned despite the new curbs, an official at the local cricket body told Reuters.

The tournament, set to start without spectators from Friday in six venues across the country, has already been hit, with two cricketers testing positive despite coronavirus protocols set up for participants.

India is behind the United States and Brazil in the highest number of infections in the world, with more than 12 million cases and nearly 165,000 deaths recorded since the start of the outbreak. (Reuters)

Jakarta. Australia will continue its inoculation programme with AstraZeneca PLC, health officials said on Saturday, after a blood clotting case raised concern about the safety of the vaccine.

A 44-year-old man was admitted to a Melbourne hospital with clotting, days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, suffering serious thrombosis, a condition that prevents normal blood flow though the circulatory system.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) regulator and a panel, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), met late Friday and early Saturday to discuss further advice on the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“We have not been advised at this time by ATAGI or the TGA to pause the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia,” Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, told a televised briefing Saturday afternoon.

Kidd said, however, that the blood clotting case is “likely” related to the vaccine.

“The risks of serious side effects remain very low, but safety is paramount and that is why TAGI and the TGA are continuing to do due diligence on this case,” Kidd said, adding that further announcements would come next week.

On Thursday, Britain identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events following use of the vaccine. Several nations, including Canada, France, Germany and Spain, limited its use after similar reports.

Possible complications with the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine could further slow the already delayed inoculation drive in Australia.

Australia launched mass vaccinations for its 25 million people in February, with most expected to receive the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, as 50 million doses are being produced domestically by CSL Ltd.

The country has had troubles, however, rolling out the programme, missing a March target by about 3.3 million doses as states and the federal government bickered over the blame.

The troubles follow a year of significant success curbing the virus, with snap lockdowns, border closures and swift tracking limiting coronavirus infections to just under 29,300 infections, with 909 COVID-19 deaths.

On Saturday, Queensland state, the epicentre of the most recent small outbreak of the coronavirus, recorded one new infection, health officials said, but risks to the public were minimal as the victim had been in isolation for days. (Reuters)

Jakarta. Thousands of Pakistanis rushed to get inoculated in the first round of commercial sales of COVID-19 vaccines that began over the weekend, with vaccination sites in the southern city of Karachi saying on Sunday they had already sold out.

Pakistan is currently offering free vaccines to frontline healthcare workers and people over the age of 50, but the drive has thus far been slow, and last month the country allowed commercial imports by the private sector for the general public.

The first round saw the commercial sale of the two-shot Russian Sputnik V to the general public for about 12,000 Pakistani rupees ($80) for a pack of two doses.

Despite the cost, a number of centres offering the shot reported long queues, with some in Karachi waiting in line for close to three hours. Most in the queue were young Pakistanis still not eligible for government’s free vaccination.

“I am very happy to get it, since now it is required for travelling,” Saad Ahmed, 34, told Reuters on Sunday after he got his shot at an upscale private sector hospital in Karachi.

While the private sale of vaccines has begun, the government and importers are still locked in a pricing dispute.

Pakistan initially agreed to exempt imported vaccines from price caps, but later rescinded the exemption and said it would set maximum prices.

One pharmaceutical company, which had already imported 50,000 doses of Sputnik V, took the government to court, where it won an interim order allowing it to sell it until pricing is decided.

As soon as vaccination was opened for walk-in customers, there were long lines of people, Dr Nashwa Ahmed, who runs vaccination at Karachi’s South City Hospital, told Reuters.

Pictures of queues outside the hospital late into the night were shared on social media.

The hospital procured 5,000 doses of Sputnik V and in just over two days all its stock had been administered or pre-booked, said a hospital official who asked not to be identified.

Companies, including one of Pakistan’s largest banks, have also purchased large quantities to have staff inoculated, the official said.

The private sales start as the country deals with a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections and healthcare facilities are fast filling to capacity.

The number of patients now in critical care has reached 3,568, the highest since the pandemic started, a cabinet minister, Asad Umar, said on Twitter. Pakistan has thus far reported 687,908 infections and 14,778 deaths. (Reuters)