VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Global coronavirus infections exceeded 50 million on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally, with a second wave of the virus in the past 30 days accounting for a quarter of the total.

October was the worst month for the pandemic so far, with the United States becoming the first country to report more than 100,000 daily cases. A surge in Europe contributed to the rise.

The latest seven-day average shows global daily infections are rising by more than 540,000.

More than 1.25 million people have died from the respiratory disease that emerged in China late last year.

The pandemic’s recent acceleration has been ferocious. It took 32 days for the number of cases to rise from 30 million to 40 million. It took just 21 days to add another 10 million.

Europe, with about 12 million cases, is the worst-affected region, overtaking Latin America. Europe accounts for 24% of COVID-19 deaths.

The region is logging about 1 million new infections every three days or so, according to a Reuters analysis. That is 51% of the global total.

France is recording 54,440 cases a day on the latest seven-day average, a higher rate than India with a far bigger population.

The global second wave is testing healthcare systems across Europe, prompting Germany, France and Britain to order many citizens back to their homes again.

Denmark, which imposed a new lockdown on its population in several northern areas, ordered the culling of its 17 million minks after a mutation of the coronavirus found in the animals spread to humans.

The United States, with about 20% of global cases, is facing its worst surge, recording more than 100,000 daily coronavirus cases on the latest seven-day average, Reuters data showed. It reported a record of more than 130,000 cases on Saturday.

The latest U.S. surge coincided with the last month of election campaigning in which President Donald Trump minimised the severity of the pandemic and his successful challenger, Joe Biden, urged a more science-based approach.

Trump’s rallies, some open-air and with few masks and little social distancing, led to 30,000 additional confirmed cases and likely led to more than 700 deaths, Stanford University economists estimated in a research paper.

In Asia, India has the world’s second-highest caseload but has seen a steady slowdown since September, despite the start of the Hindu festival season. Total cases exceeded 8.5 million cases on Friday and the daily average is 46,200, according to Reuters data. (Reuters)

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan hopes that Indonesia can become one of the main markets for the electric vehicle industry in ASEAN through the development of the Hyundai electric car factory which is currently being built in Bekasi, West Java.

During a visit to the Hyundai electric car factory in Sukamukti, Bekasi, West Java, Friday, Luhut expressed his appreciation for the South Korean automotive manufacturer's project able to operate and be careful in maintaining factory operational protocols despite the current challenging situation.

"We appreciate Hyundai's efforts to continue building the Hyundai plant so that its development runs well. The Indonesian government is currently targeting to accelerate the growth of the EV (Electric Vehicle) industry and hopes that Hyundai can become part of this important mission," said Luhut in a written statement in Jakarta, Friday.
The Indonesian government hopes that there will be cooperation with the South Korean government to jointly oversee the development of an electric car factory until it is ready for production.

"We also hope that Indonesia will become one of the main EV markets in ASEAN in the future," he said.

The construction of an electric car factory is one form of implementing Hyundai's investment commitment to developing electric cars which were signed in South Korea on November 26, 2019.

According to Luhut, Hyundai's investment commitment is also in line with the Indonesian government's determination to continue to develop environmentally-friendly transportation technology.

"To be proud of, to bring Indonesia to become a country that is increasingly friendly to the environment," Luhut wrote on the plaque he signed with the South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Park Tae-Sung shortly before touring the factory.

Luhut also said that the Hyundai factory in Indonesia would not only attract the Indonesian domestic market, but also the electric vehicle market in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and other countries where Indonesia had free trade agreements and trade agreements.

During the visit, Luhut was accompanied by Korean Ambassador Park Tae-Sung, President of the Strategic Planning Division of Hyundai Motor Group Young Woon Kong, President of Hyundai Motor for the Asia Pacific Region Lee Youngtack, President Director of PT Hyundai Manufacturing, and several officials from the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment. (antaranews)

Indonesian Naval Chief of Staff Admiral Yudo Margono underscored the importance of the spirit of ASEAN centrality to serve as a principle underlying the Indo-Pacific cooperation, especially the aspects of maritime security and naval cooperation.

"We must act by prioritizing the spirit of ASEAN centrality as the principle underlying cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly the aspects of maritime security and naval cooperation," he affirmed.

Margono made the statement while addressing the virtual 14th ASEAN Navy Chiefs' Meeting (ANCM) from the Navy Headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday.

The Vietnamese Navy hosted the meeting themed "Naval Cooperation for a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN" held in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Margono affirmed that through the ASEAN mechanism, broader cooperation can be developed to cover other regions and sub-regions in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

The cooperation is deemed crucial to maintain regional security and stability by upholding the ASEAN basic principles of centrality, mutual trust and respect, non-intervention, consensus-based decision-making, regional resilience, and respect for each country's national sovereignty, he emphasized.

"I believe that our regional progress and prosperity in the future (will rest with) the ASEAN framework and spirit. For its part, the Indonesian Navy warmly welcomes any intention and initiative to coordinate, cooperate, and collaborate in building trust for the sake of common efforts to create maritime security, something that becomes our actualization and commitment to regional peace and stability," he asserted.

Margono remarked that during the meeting, several topics under discussion comprised enhancing naval cooperation in the region within the framework of ASEAN and strengthening Maritime Domain Awareness through the exchange of information. The meeting also highlighted the need for navies of ASEAN member states to formulate ways to optimize the ASEAN Maritime Naval Exercise (Amnex). (antaranews)

The principle of safety will be the main consideration while carrying out COVID-19 immunization, chief expert of deputy II at the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Brian Sri Prahastuti said.

“The government has involved the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) as an official institution in Indonesia that is providing distribution permits and emergency-use authorization (EUA) approval," said Sri in a statement received in Jakarta on Friday.

Currently, BPOM officials are visiting a factory owned by Sinovac, a China-based pharmaceutical company that has partnered with PT Bio Farma Persero for producing its COVID-19 vaccine, Sri said. The BPOM is reviewing the vaccine production process at Sinovac's facilities.

Phase 3 clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate of Sinovac and Bio Farma are also being carried out in Bandung, West Java. The trials cover a large sample group of 1,000-10,000 samples, Sri said.

"Our understanding is better for the production of Sinovac vaccines because Indonesia is involved in Phase 3 clinical trials, and PT Bio Farma Persero will also be involved in the production process at certain stages. And we know that Bio Farma in vaccine production and Hasan Sadikin Hospital (RSHS) in vaccine clinical trials have high credibility internationally," she remarked.

The KSP will guarantee the effectiveness and safety of vaccines under production, she added.

Therefore, Sri said, the public should not hesitate over the final conclusions and recommendations regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.

The government will also involve Indonesia In Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) in the later vaccination process.

The government’s efforts to check the spread of the virus include vaccination for boosting immunity against COVID-19, Sri said.

In addition to immunization, changing public behavior to increase compliance with health protocols will also play an important role in controlling the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, she noted.

Sri said that immunization would have a direct impact -- in the form of better protection against the virus -- on individuals who receive it.

If the program is successfully implemented, covering at least 75 percent of the population, it will help achieve herd immunity and the number of viruses in circulation will certainly decrease, Sri pointed out.

"That way, 25 percent of the population, who for some reason did not get an immunization, will also get protection benefits because there would be very few viruses circulating in the community," Sri said. (antaranews)