VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. The trend of daily COVID-19 cases is currently experiencing a decline despite fairly good testing numbers, according to the Task Force for Handling COVID-19.

"With the testing numbers recently being fairly good, the number of positive cases detected has actually decreased," Wiku Adisasmito, spokesman for the COVID-19 Task Force, noted in a written statement here on Friday.

According to data on the development of COVID-19 cases as of April 1, 2021, there were an additional 6,142 confirmed positive patients, with 121,222 active cases, or eight percent, as compared to the global average of 17.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of recovered patients reached 1,355,578, or 89.3 percent, as compared to the global average of 80.7 percent. There were 41,054 deaths, or 2.7 percent, as compared to the global average of 2.2 percent.

A decrease in the number of cases was not caused by declining COVID-19 testing numbers. The testing figures in Indonesia had in fact reached the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO), reaching as many as 276 thousand people per week.

"This means the current low transmission of COVID-19 is due to the reduced rate of transmission and not because of the low testing numbers," Adisasmito noted.

Adisasmito remarked that positive developments in handling COVID-19 must be welcomed amid the wave of rising cases globally. On the other hand, Indonesia is also able to survive amid the pandemic, with the number of cases not having increased in the last two months.

However, Indonesia, in the near future, will face the challenges of the Easter and Eid Al-Fitr holidays. These long holidays often cause a spike in the number of cases. Hence, he urged people to lower mobility.

"We need to remember that in order to reach this point, many lives that have been lost as well as time and money spent. Let us maintain this achievement by not being ignorant. On the contrary, we need to strengthen our collective determination to be disciplined in implementing the 3M health protocols and enforcing the 3T healthcare protocols and vaccinations as much as possible," Adisasmito stated.  (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Some 10 students of the University of Riau (Unri) conducted a public awareness campaign on the significance of joining the government's COVID-19 vaccination program on Thursday.

The pupils focused their public awareness campaign at the Tangkerang Labuhai traditional market in Pekanbaru City to raise awareness among merchants of the vaccination program.

Three of the Unri students wore traditional attire emblematic of the multicultural communities in Indonesia while brandishing banners bearing health protocol messages.

Nurlaila wore an Aceh traditional costume, while Agung was dressed in a Papuan traditional attire, and Arky wore Malay traditional clothing during the COVID-19 awareness campaign.

Their seven university mates wore alma mater suits during the community service program to help traders and people at large in Pekanbaru to diligently follow health protocols.

"The students wearing traditional attire are so creative while launching their public awareness campaign in this traditional market," a visitor named Wahyudi stated.

The students, through the banners they brought, persuaded community members to partake in the vaccination program and continue to practice the government's recommended health protocols.

To this end, the students distributed flyers containing COVID-19 messages and free face masks to protect them from getting infected and transmitting the coronavirus disease.

As of April 1, 2021, Indonesia recorded 6,142 new confirmed cases over the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the total number of positive cases to 121,222.

Indonesia has been striving to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since the government officially announced the country's first cases on March 2, 2020.

The government has rolled out a nationwide vaccination program since January 13 this year to stem the spread of the disease.

The Health Ministry estimates a time period of 15 months to vaccinate some 181.5 million people under the national program.

"We need 15 months to accomplish it. The time frame for conducting the vaccination is counted from January 2021 to March 2022," the Health Ministry's spokesperson for the vaccination program, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, stated recently.

During the period, the government is targeting to inoculate some 181.5 million people, including 1.3 million paramedics and 17.4 million public sector workers in 34 provinces, she informed.

Tarmizi noted that the first phase of the government's immunization program is divided into two periods: January-April 2021 and April 2021-March 2022.

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto has affirmed that all TNI personnel will participate in this vaccination program.

Indonesia's COVID-19 infection rate crossed one million cases on January 26, 2021.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease has dragged Indonesia into serious public health and economic crises. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Indonesia’s Research and Technology Ministry and Australia's Monash University have agreed to strengthen research collaboration between the two countries' varsities.

The possible cooperation was included in a memorandum of understanding, signed by the ministry's secretary, Mego Pinandito, and his Australian counterpart here on Thursday.

Pinandito said he would monitor and evaluate the implementation of the MoU on research collaboration and administration policies under the Australia Indonesia Center (AIC).

The MoU aims to provide research collaboration frameworks to the AIC and seven selected universities/institutes in Indonesia, he informed.

The selected higher educational institutions are the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS), Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), University of Indonesia (UI), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Airlangga University (Unair), and Hasanuddin University (Unhas).

The MoU envisages research collaboration in areas such as food and agriculture, energy (new and renewable energy), health and medicine, transportation, engineering products, maritime, and social sciences.

The research collaboration and administration policies would also cover such activities as analysis of the two countries' national research priorities, consultation with related stakeholders for improving the best research practices, and joint research and development in relevant and prioritized areas.

The ministry and AIC may also submit joint proposals for funding sources from external institutions; co-organize conferences, seminars, workshops, and other academic activities; hold academician, student, and administration staffer exchanges; exchange scientific works, publications, and information; and, promote joint publications on the outcomes of collaborative research projects.

Regarding the ministry's cooperation with AIC, the South Sulawesi provincial administration would get involved, Pinandito said. The two parties will also pave the way for the engagement of business communities to support innovation commercialization in the future, he added.

The empowerment of the provincial administration through sciences, technology, and innovation would help the central government to achieve the nation's development goals, he added.

ANTARA has earlier reported how, over the past decades, several leading universities in Indonesia have collaborated with Australia's outstanding universities in research and teaching programs.

The University of Indonesia (UI) and University of Queensland (UQ) Australia, for instance, have even intensified cooperation through the implementation of the UI-UQ Bilateral Research Forum. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Russia’s diplomatic mission to North Korea complained on Thursday of acute shortages of essential goods such as medicine, problems getting healthcare and pandemic restrictions that it said were unprecedented in their severity.

Foreign diplomats have been leaving North Korea in droves, it said in a statement on Facebook, describing it as an exodus that had left behind fewer than 290 foreign nationals in the country.

“Those leaving the Korean capital can be understood,” it said.

“Far from everyone can endure the total restrictions that are unprecedented in their severity, the acute shortage of essential goods, including medicine, the lack of opportunities to resolve health problems,” it said.

North Korea has imposed crippling border closures to combat the pandemic, banned most international travel, and severely restricted movement inside the country.

Only nine foreign ambassadors and four charges d’affaires were still representing their nations, with most embassies having cut staff to a minimum, Russia’s diplomatic mission said.

Britain, Brazil, Germany and several other countries have already locked up the gates to their missions, while all foreign staff at international humanitarian organisations have left, it said.

“One thing is clear - unfortunately (the latest group to leave) will not be the last; the exodus of foreigners will continue,” it said.

Last month, a group of Russian diplomats and family members used a hand-pushed rail trolley to leave North Korea amid tough restrictions including the blocking of most forms of passenger transport across the border.

Photos and video released by Russia’s foreign ministry at the time showed the trolley, laden with brightly coloured bags and suitcases, being pushed across a wintry landscape. (Reuters)