VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian government plans to use antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests to detect COVID-19, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), spokesperson for the Task Force for COVID-19 Response, Wiku Adisasmito, said.

“The Indonesian government will no doubt conduct (antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests). We have received a recommendation from the WHO on (the use of) antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests that have good quality,” he said at an online press conference at the Presidential Office on Thursday.

“The antigen-based rapid tests approved by WHO is 15-30 minutes faster, easier, and cheaper and can be used for examination at schools, university campuses, and workplaces,” he added.

The WHO plans to provide 120 million units of the antigen-based rapid tests to middle- and low-income countries. The world body has set the price of Emergency Use Listing (EUL) antigen-based rapid tests at US$5 per unit.

“We are reviewing it. We will likely use it because it has a higher level of accuracy. Since it detects antigens, of course, it will detect antibodies more properly. The screening process will be conducted before diagnostic tests using real-time PCR," Adisasmito said.

The government has held talks in this regard with the WHO representative in Indonesia, he added.

Pharmaceutical majors Abbott and SD Biosensor have signed an agreement with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to produce 1,290 million units of the test. The agreement will allow the companies to take the tests to 133 countries, including Latin American countries, which have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mortality and transmission.

The antigen-based rapid test can detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antigens in samples taken from the respiratory tract. The antigen is detected when the virus replicates actively, Adisasmito informed.

The antigen-based rapid test is best performed when someone has just been exposed to the virus before antibodies are generated by the body to fight the virus.

Like the antibody rapid test, the antigen-based rapid test will likely not be accurate because the virus detected by the antigen may not be SARS-CoV-2, but another virus, such as influenza. (Antaranews)

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin reminded parties to not think of changing the system of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) since the nation’s founders had agreed on it and were final.

"The NKRI is an agreement of the founders of the nation, with Pancasila as the basis. Hence, we should not bring any other system apart from the Republic of Indonesia. No one should think of changing the Republic of Indonesia since the NKRI is the final form of the state," Amin noted in his remarks from the vice president's official residence in Jakarta, Friday, on the occasion of the 58th Dies Natalis celebration of Mataram University.

Amin emphasized that Pancasila and NKRI are the national agreement that all Indonesians should guard.

On various occasions as a speaker at universities, Amin has reiterated the significance of instilling a spirit of nationalism among students. The vice president believes that harboring a spirit of nationalism can guarantee unity amid the plurality of the Indonesian nation.

"Also instill a sense of nationalism among all our students. This is important since Indonesia is a pluralistic nation that has various ethnicities, religions, and races," Amin noted.

Character building, morality, tolerance, and social sensitivity are important parameters for the young generation of the nation today.

Amin stressed on the importance of always instilling values of morality, tolerance, and social sensitivity and focusing on character building in students so they become intellectuals, who not only possess knowledge but also uphold morality and have social respect.

"I always say that the world will not be better because of the scores of smart people, but because of good morality and social cohesion," the vice president affirmed. (Antaranews)

The government admits that the Indonesian economy is having a recession this year. However, the government itself is optimistic that Indonesia's recession will not be as severe as in other countries.

Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) Ministry of Finance Febrio Kacaribu said the recession had occurred since the beginning of the first quarter of 2020.

Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is between 5 percent, down to 2.97 percent in the first quarter of 2020.

Then, the decline continued into the second quarter, where the realization was minus 5.32 percent.

"It is clear a recession, but in assessing this recession it is important to make a fair comparison," Febrio said in a virtual media briefing with BKF, Thursday.

He said that the slowdown in economic activity is a sign of a recession. In 2020, Febrio estimates that Indonesia's economy will experience a contraction between minus 1.7 percent to minus 0.6 percent.

"We see that in the first quarter it has gone down. We cannot say a recession because we don't know how long it will take. Now, we see that the second quarter is weakening, the third quarter is weakening. It turns out that in the first quarter, there has been a slowdown and this is sustainable," he explained.

Febrio explained several countries had a record of a recession worse than Indonesia. For example, India recorded at minus 24 percent. So even though Indonesia is having a recession, the way to view it must be from a broad perspective.

If the Indonesian economy is only minus 1.7 percent to minus 0.6 percent. This condition is much better than the economic conditions of other countries.

"This is a very serious problem. But we also do the targeting and remain careful," he concluded. (RRI)

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that batik exports increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic to $21.54 million in January - July 2020 compared to the same period last year $17.99 million with the main market to Japan, the United States, and Europe.

"This phenomenon is quite unique because the export market increases during the COVID-19 pandemic," the Minister of Industry said while attending the inauguration of the 2020 National Batik Day in Jakarta, Friday.

The Minister of Industry said that efforts to open new markets at the global level are expected to help revive the performance of the Indonesian batik industry and to further introduce Indonesian batik.

He said he seeing the existing conditions apart from being a cultural heritage, batik is also an important industrial commodity.

This industry is considered to have great leverage in creating added value, trade, the amount of investment, the impact on other industries, and the speed of market penetration.

"The Ministry of Industry continues to strive to preserve and encourage the development of the national batik industry to make it more globally competitive," Agus said.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry, the batik industry has reached 47,000 units and is spread across 101 centers and employs over 200,000 people.

Agus added that the batik industry has also played a major role in contributing to the country's foreign exchange. (Antaranews)