VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 15 - Vaccination spokesperson for the Health Ministry Dr Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the mutation of the new coronavirus N439K, which was first detected in Indonesia in November 2020, has yet to receive special attention from the World Health Organization (WHO).

"This is actually a single mutation. There is only one mutation in this type of variant. This type of variant is not the one that draws special attention from WHO," she said here on Sunday.

She said that the N439K mutation was found earlier than the B117 variant. However, WHO has  only paid  special attention to the new coronavirus of B117 from the United Kingdom (UK), B1351 from South Africa, and P1 from Brazil.

The Health Ministry alleged  that there  are various variants of the coronavirus in Indonesia, such as  D614G, B117, and N439K.

She believes that WHO will conduct a wider study of the N439K mutation.

"We don't know whether this virus is one that deserves special attention or not," she said.

The new coronavirus variant of N439K is the same as the variant of D614G, a mutation in the virus. According to a recent journal,  the new coronavirus variant of N439K could camouflage the production of antibodies, she said..

She said that usually the WHO would make an announcement after conducting studies with experts from various countries, including a study on the level of malignancy of the N439K coronavirus which might aggravate the COVID-19 disease.

"So indeed this virus is a new variant of the corona virus. This variant is in and attached to the ace receptor. This virus is reported to be stronger. But the findings are based on the results of a trial. It means that only one journal has reported the new variant. And we haven't heard what this virus looks like from the WHO," she affirmed.

She ensured that the government was always aware of the spread of the coronavirus mutation.

"Mutations are always monitored by the government, as we know that mutations always occur, and that is the character of the virus. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has said that indeed the state must pay attention to the development of these virus mutations," she said.

Meanwhile, she also continues to urge the public to implement the 5M health protocols by wearing masks, washing hands with soap, maintaining social distance, staying away from crowds, and limiting mobility as an effective way to prevent transmission of the COVID-19 virus, in addition to the 3T protocol by testing, tracing and treatment.

"Then, if we experience symptoms, immediately identify and have ourselves checked. Then the current vaccine is also a way to fight so that we don't get sick because of exposure to COVID-19," said Tarmizi. (Antaranews)

Mar. 15 - The Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, treated 3,110 inpatients who were confirmed positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday at 8 a.m. local time.

"The figure  declined by 110 people," said Head of Information for the Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) I Colonel Marine Aris Mudian here on Sunday, March 14, 2021.

He explained that the total number of patients under treatment on Saturday was 3,220. The patients who had recovered from the infection were allowed to return  home.

He said that the COVID-19 patients who developed mild symptoms were treated in towers 4, 5, 6 and 7.  Meanwhile, the total number of beds in the four towers is 5,994, so that the number of empty beds is  2,884.

Overall, the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital has registered 73,098 patients from March 23, 2020 to March 14, 2021. Of the total, 69,988 were discharged, 69,191 recovered, 70 were referred to other hospitals and 87 died.

Meanwhile, Pademangan Atlet Emergency Hospital treated 5,259 patients as of Thursday morning. The figure increased by 125 compared to 5,133 on Saturday. The patients were treated in towers 8, 9 and 10. (Antaranews)

Mar. 15 - Mount Merapi, standing on the border between Yogyakarta and Central Java, erupted three times on Sunday, with incandescent lava flowing up to 900 meters in southwesterly direction based on observation from 00.00 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time.

Over the period of time, the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG   recorded  26 earthquakes with an amplitude of 3-25 mm and a duration of 12-87 seconds,  four  earthquakes with an amplitude of 2-3 mm and a duration of 9-11 seconds and  two  earthquakes with an amplitude of 3 mm and  a duration of  7-8 seconds. (BPPTKG), Hanik Humaida said.

White thick smoke was observed bellowing as high as 400 meters from the crater's peak, while the weather around the mountain  was sunny and cloudy.

Moderate winds blew to the east and west, with air temperatures of 13-23 degrees Celsius, air humidity of 70-86 percent and air pressure reaching 586-708 mmHg.

During the observation on Saturday at 00.00 a.m. to 24.00 p.m. local time, Mount Merapi released 15 times incandescent lava as far as 1 km in the southwest direction.

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

The lava and hot clouds of Mount Merapi are projected to impact areas in the south to the southwest that comprise Sungai Kuning, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih.

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

Mar. 15 - An earthquake of magnitude 4.9 struck Bone Bolango district, Gorontalo province, on Saturday night, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported.

The quake which struck at 21.29 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) was centered 77 kilometers southeast of .Bone Bolango at a depth of 138 kilometers, the BMKG noted on its official website.

The tremor was felt at Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale II by people living as far away as Gorontalo city. A quake of MMI II was felt by some people and resulted in the hung light articles shaking.

The BMKG noted the quake did not have the potential to cause tsunami. (Antaranews)