Some 32 COVID-19 patients, whose test results came back positive for COVID-19, underwent treatment at the emergency hospital at Galang Island, Riau Islands, according to data as of 8 a.m. local time, April 23, 2020.

Commander of the Joint Regional Defense Command (Pangkogabwilhan) I Vice Admiral Yudo Margono, in a press statement on Thursday, noted that Galang Island Hospital had treated 43 patients.

All patients were male, with 32 having tested positive for COVID-19 and 11 asymptomatic patients.

According to the latest recorded data, the number of COVID-19 positive patients increased by one individual to reach 32 patients, from earlier 31.

The number of patients presenting no symptoms of the disease increased by two to reach 11, from nine earlier, while the number of patients under surveillance (PDP) went down by three.

Margono had earlier confirmed that 423 personnel from the Integrated Joint Task Command (Kogasgabpad), comprising accompanying task force, security task force, and supporting task force, were deployed at the Galang Island Hospital.

"The accompanying task force assigned to conduct maintenance measures comprises 43 Indonesian Army members, 10 Indonesian Navy personnel, 18 Indonesian Air Force troops, two police officers, 25 Ministry of Health personnel, and 49 volunteers," he expounded.

Galang Island Hospital, built on March 9, 2020, as a precautionary measure to tackle a surge in the number of COVID-19 patients in Indonesia, has been officially operational since April 6, 2020.

The Galang Island Hospital has 340 observation rooms and 20 isolation rooms.

Achmad Yurianto, the government’s spokesman for COVID-19 Handling, remarked that 913 COVID-19 patients had recovered out of the total of 7,418 COVID-19 positive cases as of 12 p.m. local time, Wednesday, April 22, 2020.

"Meanwhile, the number of deceased patients reached 635, patients under surveillance stood at 17,754, and 193,571 people under monitoring," Yurianto noted during a video press conference in Jakarta, Wednesday (Apr 22).

The data indicates the rise from Tuesday's data on Apr 21 at 12 p.m. local time, with the number of positive cases increasing by 283, 71 more patients having recovered, and 19 other patients having died. (ANTARA)

APEC's illustration for life-saving products during COVID-19 pandemic. In many places, medical equipment, medicines and basic protective items are both critical and in severe shortage. (APEC Secretariat)

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic of colossal magnitude that has impacted the health and safety of billions and has long-term economic and social repercussions.

This challenging scenario is a time for APEC economies to relook the trade policy response to ensure that it supports health systems across the region.

Taking into account that the trade policy is a tool for fighting the pandemic, Director of the APEC Policy Support Unit Denis Hew suggested that it is time for countries to lift export bans and lower barriers on medical goods.

"Saving lives is, of course, the most pressing priority right now. Finding innovative economic solutions to this dilemma cannot wait until the lockdowns are lifted and the health crisis abates," Hew noted in a written statement issued by the APEC Policy Support Unit and received by Antara News Agendy, in Jakarta, on Thursday.

The private sector has urged APEC to do more. In late March, the APEC Business Advisory Council, representing Asia-Pacific’s business community, wrote to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of Malaysia, the APEC chair for 2020, to seek region-wide collaboration to combat the health impacts and mitigate the economic consequences of the pandemic.

The business community called for multilateral action to help contain the spread of COVID-19 through driving information exchange, aligning health systems, and enabling travel for essential health workers to the required locations.

"Notably, the council pointed to gaps in the trade policy that, if addressed, would greatly contribute to managing the health crisis. They highlighted that restrictions still exist in terms of the export of medical equipment, medicines, and basic protective items, which are both critical and in severe shortage," Hew explained.

To this end, he believes that it may now be an opportune time for economies to consider eliminating or reducing tariffs on life-saving products, including face masks, hand soaps, sanitizers, and other personal protective equipment.

APEC represents 40.8 percent (US$404.5 billion) of the global import value of these essential medical goods and 28.8 percent (US$271.8 billion) of the global exports. More importantly, APEC economies occupy several of the top spots on the lists of importers and exporters of these items.

Such sector-specific tariff reductions are not new to APEC. Employing the ground-breaking APEC environmental goods initiative as a model, members could agree to an APEC-wide standstill and eventually phased elimination of all tariffs on such vital medical goods.

Furthermore, recognizing the role that APEC can play in this crisis, economies could commit to refraining from implementing trade-restrictive measures on such products even after the pandemic abates and maintain open supply lines.

APEC has been known to be an incubator of innovative good ideas that have influenced other multinational bodies — its environmental goods initiative, for instance, eventually figured into discussions in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Such a timely and life-saving trade liberalization initiative would send a positive signal to the rest of the world and contribute in steering the global response to the pandemic in the right direction. (ANTARA)

It is business as usual at the Poncol market in Jakarta in spite of large-scale social restrictions. (ANTARA/Livia Kristianti)

 The Jakarta provincial government is set to extend large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), which have been implemented in the city since April 10 to curb coronavirus transmissions.

"The number of coronavirus cases has continued to increase and (so) the Jakarta administration will extend large-scale social restrictions," the second chairman of the Jakarta COVID-19 Task Force, Catur Laswanto, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to the COVID-19 official website, Jakarta had recorded 1,719 confirmed coronavirus cases on April 10, the first day of the implementation of large-scale social restrictions. The number has more than doubled to 3,399 as of Wednesday (April 22).

Deputy Chairman of the Jakarta Legislative Assembly (DPRD), Mohammad Taufik, has urged Governor Anies Baswedan to propose the extension of large-scale social restrictions to the Health Ministry amid fears the transmission of coronavirus in the capital will get worse unless the PSBB is extended.

"It (PSBB) must be extended. The number of people exposed to the virus has continued to increase although the recovery rate has also risen. Mr. Anies should propose the extension to the Health Ministry soon," Taufik said.

Large-scale social restrictions should be extended indefinitely or until the number of coronavirus cases declines, he added.

"Assistance should be distributed (while the large-scale social restrictions are in place). I think the Jakarta administration should be prepared for the long haul," he continued.

"The shorter the implementation (of the extended large-scale social restrictions), the better it will be. (Companies that are still operating) must be dealt with to ensure that the number of COVID-19 cases is curbed," he noted.

The Indonesian Government’s spokesperson for National COVID-19 Response, Achmad Yurianto, stated that as of Tuesday (April 21), 95 additional patients have recovered from COVID-19 in the country. The number of new cases stands at 375, while the death toll has reached 25.

“The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached 7,135, with 616 people dead, 186,330 people under monitoring (ODP), and 16,763 patients under surveillance (PDP)," Yurianto noted.

The Indonesian Government has declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency and imposed large-scale social distancing measures, especially in Jakarta, which has reported the highest number of cases, West Java, Central Java, and Riau Province. (ANTARA)

The Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) is collaborating with DBS Bank for increasing foreign investment into the country.

While signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bank DBS Indonesia in Jakarta on Wednesday, BKPM head Bahlil Lahadalia said he hoped the synergy of both parties would help encourage investment into the country.

"Through this cooperation, I hope we can work together to exchange information (about) what (we) can (do to) support each other to accelerate foreign investment into Indonesia," Bahlil Lahadalia said via a virtual conference.

The head of the Investment Coordinating Board said that both parties would collect data and analyze which potential investors can be approved immediately.

"I think after this (MoU signing) we will take a strategic step by looking at the data of DBS customers and their (interest) trends," Lahadalia informed.

Speaking at the MoU signing, president director of Bank DBS Indonesia, Paulus Sutisna, said that DBS, as one of the major banks in Asia, has a regional reach, which, he believes, would help not just in promoting, but also facilitating investment.

“(The collaboration would cover) Both foreign investment in Indonesia and the investment of business people to countries where DBS operates," he pointed out.

Paulus said he believes there is potential for successful cooperation because banks have close relationships with corporate customers and know their sectors, investment interests, and promising business opportunities.

"As a trusted business partner, banks can provide direction and accuracy to profitable investment opportunities," he noted. (ANTARA)