VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mount Merapi, straddling the provinces of Central Java and Yogyakarta, erupted again on Saturday morning, spewing a plume of smoke and ash up to two thousand meters into the air.

The most active volcano in Indonesia that erupted at 5:21 West Indonesia Standard Time (WIB) was recorded on the seismogram to have an amplitude of 50 millimeters and a duration of 180 seconds, the Center for Investigation and Development of Geological Disaster Technology (BPPTKG) stated on its Twitter account monitored in Yogyakarta.

"The eruption column observed was two thousand meters high from the peak," the agency noted.

The BPPTKG has, until now, maintained the status of Mount Merapi at Level II, or alert.

For the time being, the agency has advised against conducting climbing activities, except for the purpose of investigation and research related to disaster mitigation efforts.

The BPPTKG has appealed to local residents to not conduct any activity within a three-kilometer radius from the volcano's peak.

The volcano erupted twice on Friday (March 27).

The first eruption that occurred at 10:46 WIB spewed an ash column five thousand meters high, while the second eruption recorded at 21:46 WIB emitted a one-thousand-meter high ash column. (ANTARA) 

The Indonesian Task Force for COVID-19 Response has appointed Jakarta's Military Commander (Pangdam Jaya) Major General Eko Margiyono as head of the newly set-up emergency hospital for treating coronavirus infections in the city.

The hospital is housed in the same building in Kemayoran, Jakarta that was used to accommodate thousands of athletes during the 2018 Asian Games.

"I have been assigned to lead the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital," Maj. Gen. Eko Margiyono announced in a press statement in Jakarta on Saturday.

He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the hospital.

The hospital, which was officially inaugurated on March 23, 2020, is currently treating 208 persons who tested positive for the coronavirus.

If the number of positive patients continues to increase, two additional towers in the building complex will be converted into treatment rooms, said Maj. Gen. Eko Margiyono.

"If the situation gets worse, we can apply the next scenario, namely (using) towers four and five," he remarked.

The government has converted two towers — number six and seven — in the Wisma Atlet complex into a maintenance area. Another tower is being used to provide accommodation to health workers, volunteers, and nurses, and one tower is serving as the center of the task force's operations.

Eko said the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital is continuing to improve facilities and resources in anticipation of an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients.

The Jakarta Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkopimda) has estimated that the number of patients could jump to 6,000-8,000.

The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, the Ministry of State Enterprises (BUMN), the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), the Indonesian Police (Polri), and volunteers, among others, have assisted in the operation of the hospital and in the provision of infrastructure and facilities. (ANTARA)

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Indonesia rose by 109 to reach 1,155 as of Saturday, with 59 patients recovering and 102 others dying of the disease, the COVID-19 Response Task Force stated. The increase in the number of new cases suggests coronavirus transmission has continued in the community, government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Achmad Yurianto, said during a press conference at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) building, in Jakarta, on Saturday.

The number of patients recovering from the disease increased by 13, while the number of fatalities rose by 15 as of Saturday. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases stood at 1,046 as of Friday (March 27), with 87 patients dying from the infection and 46 people making a full recovery.

The data was recorded between Friday (March 27)  at noon and Saturday (March 28) at noon.

The number of COVID-19 cases stood at four in Aceh, nine in Bali, 103 in Banten, 22 in Yogyakarta, 627 in Jakarta, one in Jambi, 119 in West Java, 55 in Central Java, 77 in East Java, three in West Kalimantan, 17 in East Kalimantan, seven in Central Kalimantan, and one in South Kalimantan.

Riau Islands recorded five cases, West Nusa Tenggara two cases, South Sumatra two cases, West Sumatra five cases, North Sulawesi two cases, North Sumatra eight cases, and Southeast Sulawesi three cases.

Meanwhile, 33 cases were recorded in South Sulawesi; two in Central Sulawesi; four in Lampung; one each in Riau, North Maluku, and Maluku; two in West Papua; and, seven in Papua

North Kalimantan registered one more case, bringing the province’s total to two. (ANTARA) 

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan once again appealed to residents of the capital city to stay in and not leave for their hometowns amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

"I have reiterated this message many times. We would again like to ask the people of Jakarta to not leave the city, especially for their hometowns," he said during a press conference in Jakarta on Saturday.

The appeal was aimed at ensuring Jakartans remained healthy and medical services could be provided to them immediately, if the need arose, he explained. The request was made to prevent the coronavirus disease from spreading to more areas, he added.

Health facilities in Jakarta were limited given the number of active COVID-19 cases, however, the condition in the city was still relatively better than in other regions, he remarked.

"Hence, I hope everyone will adopt a responsible attitude and stay in Jakarta and not return to their hometowns," he said.

The COVID-19 emergency response in the capital city was also extended until April 19, 2020, from April 5 initially.

"Restrictions remain. Hence, the emergency response status has been extended from April 5 to April 19, meaning that the work-from-home (WFH) policy for Jakarta's civil servants, civilian-related military and police personnel remains in place, until the emergency response status is revoked," the Governor confirmed.

In the meantime, Indonesia recorded 109 new COVID-19 cases as of Saturday, taking the total case count in the country to 1,155, with 59 patients recovering and 102 others dying of the disease, according to the COVID-19 Response Task Force.

The increase in the number of new cases suggests coronavirus transmission has continued in the community, government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Achmad Yurianto, said during a press conference in Jakarta on Saturday.

Of the total confirmed cases, 627 were reported from Jakarta and 119 from West Java Province, he noted. (ANTARA)