VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The number of people already infected by the mystery virus emerging in China is far greater than official figures suggest, scientists have told the BBC.

There have been more than 60 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, but UK experts estimate a figure nearer 1,700.

Two people are known to have died from the respiratory illness, which appeared in Wuhan city in December.

"I am substantially more concerned than I was a week ago," disease outbreak scientist Prof Neil Ferguson, said.

The work was conducted by the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London, which advises bodies including the UK government and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Singapore and Hong Kong have been screening air passengers from Wuhan, and US authorities announced similar measures starting on Friday at three major airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. (BBC)

State-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has outlined a target to step up the capacity of renewable energy-based power plant by 1.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2020.

"Renewable energy (power plant) capacity in 2020 will be increased by 1.5 GW to ensure its reliability," Deputy President Director of PLN Darmawan Prasojo stated here on Friday.

Currently, PLN's renewable energy-based power plant has a total capacity of 7.761 GW, with the largest capacity of some 4.7 GW sourced from the hydroelectric power plant (PLTA).
The company has inked a power purchase agreement with Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar to build a US$-129 million floating Solar Power Plant (PLTS) at Cirata Dam, West Java.

Investment in the project is expected to total Rp1.8 trillion, and the solar power plant will become the largest in the ASEAN, with a capacity of 145 MW, larger than the 132.5-MW capacity Cadiz Solar Power Plant in the Philippines.

Indonesia has outlined a target for renewable energy to account for 23 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2025, with PLTS contributing 5 MW of the existing national power capacity.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has prepared a new regulation on the purchase price for electricity from renewable energy-based power plant that will utilize the feed-in tariff scheme for its new price formula. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has revealed that Vice Admiral Aan Kurnia will be the next chief of the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency  (Bakamla).

"Mr Aan," President Joko Widodo said in response to the press' questions about the new Bakamla chief, at the Merdeka Palace, here Friday. Kurnia previously served as Commander General of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Academy. He is an alumnus of the Navy Academy (AAL) of XXXI Class in 1987.

Kurnia will succeed the current chief, A Taufiqoerrochman.

On Thursday, January 16, Jokowi led a Final Assessment Team (TPA) meeting to discuss the appointments of chiefs of several strategic positions including Bakamla.

Since September 2018, Bakamla has been led by Taufiqoerrochman, who is turning 60 this year, and will enter his retirement period. (ANTARA)

A second person died in central China after being infected with the new SARS-like virus that’s caused dozens of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, and emerged in Japan and Thailand this week.

The patient, a 69-year-old man, died Wednesday at the Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital in Hubei province after a two-week illness that progressed to multi organ failure, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said late Thursday. The city has reported 41 cases of pneumonia caused by the so-called 2019-nCoV virus. Twelve patients have been cured and discharged, five are being treated for severe illness, and two have died.

Authorities in Japan reported a case Thursday in a resident of Kanagawa prefecture aged in his 30s, who had spent time with an infected person in Wuhan. That’s the second time someone outside China was found to be infected with the novel coronavirus, which has captured international attention because of similarities with the one that sparked Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, 17 years ago.

Unlike SARS, which killed almost 800 people, the new virus doesn’t appear to spread easily between people. Much remains to be understood about the new coronavirus, which was first identified in China earlier this month, the World Health Organization said in a statement Thursday in response to the case in Japan.

“Not enough is known about 2019-nCoV to draw definitive conclusions about how it is transmitted, clinical features of disease, or the extent to which it has spread,” the Geneva-based agency said. “The source also remains unknown.” (Bloomberg)