VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 19 - Papua New Guinea will tighten internal border controls, restrict personal movement and enforce mask wearing in public from next week, as it confronts a steep rise in COVID-19 infections.

The authorities in the Pacific island nation of 9 million people also said they will ban mass gatherings, close schools and may order burials in a “designated mass grave” as part of sweeping measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

PNG has recorded a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, with hundreds of new daily cases. Total cases stand at 2,658 and deaths at 36, but health experts believe the true numbers are likely much higher.

Neighbouring Australia has pledged 8,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine for PNG health workers, and asked the European Union to release 1 million doses of its supply, as local media reported patients being turned away from overrun hospitals.

New Zealand also said on Friday it was sending PNG enough personal protective equipment kits to treat 1,000 COVID-19 cases.

The social distancing measures being imposed from Monday will remain in force until the end of the declaration of the pandemic, unless revoked earlier by officials, PNG pandemic response controller David Manning said in a statement.

“Authorised officers” would be tasked with enforcing compliance and anybody found breaching the rules could be penalised, the statement added, without providing further detail.

Though far-reaching, the measures do not go as far as the strict stay-home orders and border closures imposed over the past year in parts of Australia, where local transmission has been all but eliminated.

The PNG ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people includes exemptions for religious gatherings of up to 50 if worshippers follow social distancing requirements. Shops can open 13 hours a day and restaurants 15 hours.

Domestic flights are allowed if travellers undertake temperature checks and produce a negative COVID-19 test result. Travel between the country’s 22 provinces can continue for purposes like essential business, healthcare and returning home.

“The outbreak in PNG is rapidly escalating, with hospitals and clinics overwhelmed and many health workers already infected,” MSF Australia Executive Director Jennifer Tierney said in a statement.

“What’s needed is a bigger response, now, before the situation gets out of control.”

State-owned Ok Tedi Mining Ltd on Friday began a two-week suspension at its copper mine in the Western Province, the area hardest hit outside the capital Port Moresby.

The Australian government earlier this week suspended travel exemptions which had allowed fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) mining and energy workers to travel between the two countries. (Reuters)

Mar. 19 - Long-term remote learning could spur dropouts and increase the number of child marriages among students, according to the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI).

"KPAI's observation showed a high likelihood of increased dropouts and child marriages arising from remote learning due to the pandemic," KPAI Commissioner for Education Retno Listyarti noted in a statement here on Friday.

Listyarti noted that the KPAI had received complaints from parents about difficulties in paying the school fees, especially for students of private schools. Several parents had sought a discount in school fees on grounds that the children are learning from home.

Listyanti affirmed that the long-term implementation of distance learning had become one factor triggering dropouts.

Students not having facilities for distance learning could miss out on the opportunity to learn and decide to quit school. Some then worked to help their jobless parents, while several others decided to get married.

The Directorate General of the religious court received 34 thousand applications for marriage dispensation during the period from January to June 2020, of which 60 percent were submitted by children under 18 years of age.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the imposition of social restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic had deprived children from engaging in normal activities and from availing reproductive health services. (Antaranews)

Mar. 19 - Mount Sinabung in Karo District, North Sumatra Province, erupted again on Friday, with volcanic ash bellowing up to 700 meters from the mountain's peak.

"Volcanic ash from the eruption, with an amplitude of 10 mm and a duration of three to nine seconds, billowed to the west and northwest of the mountain," Armen Putra, head of the Mount Sinabung Observation Post, noted here on Friday.

The emergency status of the 2,460-meter-high Mount Sinabung is declared at Level III (alert).

Putra called on residents to not conduct activities in villages that have been relocated and at locations within a three-km radius from the mountain's peak, five-km radius for the south-east sector, and four-km radius for the east-north sector.

When the eruption produces ash rain, the residents are advised to wear masks while venturing outside, securing clean water facilities, and clearing volcanic ash from the roofs of houses.

"People living near the rivers that disgorge in Mount Sinabung are also urged to remain vigilant to the potential dangers of lava," Putra noted. (Antaranews)

Mar. 19 - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) bore witness to mass COVID-19 vaccination being conducted for public service officers and community leaders in Bogor City, West Java, on Friday.

The head of state, in the company of Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, and Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto, observed the implementation of mass vaccination.

Widodo approached the registration desk and examination table and witnessed up-close the process of vaccine administration and greeted residents awaiting the post-vaccination observation process.

"Everything went well and in the city of Bogor today, at this place, approximately 500 public servants will be vaccinated to then be followed by the inoculation of pilgrims, religious leaders, and community leaders," the head of state noted at Puri Begawan, Bogor.

"We are optimistic that this would also accelerate the vaccination process nationally as what I saw yesterday was for example in Makassar City, in Tana Toraja District, everyone moved. Today, in Bogor City, mass vaccination is conducted on a large scale, both here and elsewhere," he remarked.

President Jokowi is optimistic that the number of vaccine recipients would increase to help build herd immunity against COVID-19.

"We are optimistic of reducing the rate of transmission of COVID-19 in our country," he affirmed.

The head of state is then scheduled to inspect the implementation of the drive-through vaccination service at the Pajajaran Sports Hall, Bogor City.

According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force on Thursday (Mar 18), some 4,848,752 residents received the first injection of the vaccine and 1,948,531 residents had received the first and second injections or had completed vaccination.

The number of residents, who have received the COVID-19 vaccine injection, is still far from the government's target of vaccinating 181.5 million people to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19.

Indonesia had earlier witnessed a drop in the nationwide trend in COVID-19 infections, spokesperson for the Task Force for Handling COVID-19 Wiku Adisasmito stated.

“Currently, the trend of COVID-19 cases nationally is decreasing. This shows a change in the situation for the better, with a declining trend in transmission,” Adisasmito noted during an online press conference here on Thursday.

Despite the government’s unwavering efforts to improve accuracy of the data to 100 percent to capture the real situation, the trend is still quite valid, on account of the improving global trend, the spokesperson remarked. (Antaranews)