VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Information about the pandemic spreads rapidly in society without knowing the truth.

The WHO calls this situation an infodemic, which is over-information about a pandemic that could lead people to do the wrong thing.

This was said by the Australian Charge d'affair for Indonesia, Allaster Cox in his remarks at the webinar "Healthy Skepticism to Stop Misinformation During the Covid-19 Pandemic" on Monday (14/12).

Cox said the government is working with the media and other institutions to have an important role to play in increasing public understanding of several issues.

"To manage this infodemic as the WHO called it is as an important part to being able to control the COVID-19 epidemic or many other social or other community phenomena that we face today, politics too," Cox said.

"Government can play a role by creating an informative environment, factual content is developed and widely distributed. During 2020 government, media, civil society organizations, and technology companies have all an important role to play in try to manage and combat misinformation and promoting information that is reliable and improves public understanding," he added.

Allaster Cox added that misinformation can cause people to not follow the public health message from the government and can also increase the stigma which ultimately results in an increase in viral transmission in the community.

Misinformation can also be a source of division and conflict. So it is highly recommended for the public to look for facts and sources of the news they receive. (voi/nuke)

The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto appreciated the Ge-Nose C-19 innovation, which is a tool for developing the COVID-19 test created by Gadjah Mada University (UGM) researchers.

"This tool can be a solution for COVID-19 testing amid the high mobility of the community," Airlangga said in a statement in Jakarta, Monday.

He hopes that this tool can make the development of a COVID-19 endurance test easier, cheaper, and faster to show results to the public.

"The government really appreciates innovation and synergy between campuses and corporations like this, and hopes that there will be more innovation breakthroughs in the future," he said.

Previously, on a separate occasion, Airlangga said the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine could increase public confidence in health and national economic recovery.

He also mentioned that the 1.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac that arrived in Indonesia on Sunday (6/12) currently in the emergency-use authorization procedure from BPOM.

According to him, vaccines can drive a full economic recovery along with the implementation of gas and brake policies by the government to control COVID-19 cases.

At present, although the pandemic cases in Indonesia continue to increase, the recovery rate has reached 82.91 percent or higher than the global average, which is a positive signal going forward. (Antaranews)

The National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN) is proposing the most expensive price for an independent or paid COVID-19 vaccine of Rp 100,000, in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

Deputy Chair of the BPKN Research and Development Commission, Anna Maria Tri Anggraini, in a virtual press conference on Monday, explained that WHO had made an estimate or some kind of benchmark regarding the reasonable price of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Her party has also conducted several interviews regarding the normal price of the COVID-19 vaccine on the market.

"The recommendations we convey are first to ensure that all Indonesian people get vaccines free for those who need it, and for paid vaccines, the upper limit is around Rp. 100,000. Because it is in accordance with the standards issued by WHO and some of our benchmarks," she explained.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of BPKN Rizal E. Halim said that the consumer protection agency had sent a number of recommendations to the Ministry of Health regarding a number of points including vaccinations and medical devices.

BPKN recommends the implementation of the Health Law in which the government must take full responsibility for public health.

"Therefore, with some of the data we convey, the price regulation for rapid tests, PCR tests, swab tests, and vaccines must be determined by the government based on the economic value and ability of the community according to predetermined standards," he said.

Regarding the price of independent vaccines, Rizal said that if this should be applied to the well-off people, then the government needs to set the highest retail price.

"If indeed it must be applied to the well-off people, then the government must determine the highest retail price (HET) based on the data we have sent to the Minister of Health," Rizal added. (Antaranews)

The crackdown on corruption should boost the recovery of state assets for public welfare, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"The crackdown on corruption should be able to increase the retrieval of state assets," Jokowi stated during the opening of the 2020 Public Prosecutors' Meeting at the State Palace here on Monday.

The Attorney General had earlier reported to the president that over Rp19 trillion worth of state assets were retrieved from various graft cases in the country.

Responding to the report, the head of state noted that such a huge amount should be channeled in the direction of subsequent corruption eradication.

"Prosecutors must work hard to defend the country's interests and to save state assets," Jokowi affirmed.

The Prosecutors’ office is the leading institution in law enforcement, corruption prevention, and eradication as well as for guarding national development.

Hence, Jokowi stressed on the importance of prioritizing human resources that are relevant to the industrial revolution 4.0.

"A transparent and efficient working system must be implemented. A manual system prone to corruption must be abandoned," he remarked.

The president specifically lauded the development of the IT-based system for integrated criminal case handling at the Attorney General’s Office.

"This is good. Moreover, it has been synergized with the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, the police, correctional institutions, and courts. However, most importantly, the data and technology would be updated regularly," Jokowi added. (Antaranews)