VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

People wait in line to be tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US, Jan 11, 2022. (File photo: REUTERS/Nick Oxford) - 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday (Jan 14) revised its guidance for Americans on wearing masks to protect against COVID-19, recommending donning "the most protective mask you can" while stopping short of advocating nationwide usage of N95 respirators.

The CDC, an agency critics have accused of offering shifting and confusing guidance amid the pandemic, clarified on its website "that people can choose respirators such as N95s and KN95s, including removing concerns related to supply shortages for N95s".

Americans should "wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently", the CDC said.

N95 masks may be considered for use in places like transit "when greater protection is needed or desired", it added.

The United States leads the world in COVID-19 deaths - roughly 850,000 - even as it battles a surge of cases involving the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant. Complicating matters is the refusal of some Americans to get vaccinated.

President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the federal government plans to make "high-quality masks" available to Americans for free. In another step, the White House on Friday said the government will begin shipping 500 million COVID-19 tests to Americans later this month without charge.

The CDC said it wants to encourage Americans to wear masks rather than push them to wear the highest-grade face protection, but also explicitly said that respirators provide the best level of protection. It said that "loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection."

"Masking is a critical public health tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and it is important to remember that any mask is better than no mask," the CDC added.

The CDC said the revised recommendations "reflect the science on masking, including what we have learned in the past two years", since the start of the pandemic.

More Americans have been recently opting for higher-grade protection amid the surge in cases.

The United States is tallying about 1,800 COVID-19 deaths and 780,000 new infections daily - the most in the world - as well as record levels of hospitalized patients.

The Omicron-related surge appears to be slowing in areas that were hit first, including states in the Northeast and South, according to a Reuters analysis. In Western states, the number of new cases climbed 89 per cent in the past week compared with the previous week.

The CDC last May announced that fully vaccinated people could shed their face coverings, as COVID-19 cases were then on the decline. But in July, the CDC said fully vaccinated people should wear masks in indoor public places in regions where COVID-19 was spreading rapidly. The CDC said this week 99.5 per cent of US counties currently are covered by the mask recommendation.

Some US N95 makers told Reuters they had record N95 sales after Anthony Fauci, Biden's chief medical adviser, recommended on CNN that Americans "get the highest quality mask that you can tolerate and that's available to you".

N95 masks that are worn correctly will filter out at least 95 per cent of particulate matter in the air, preventing anything larger than 0.3 microns from passing through.

Los Angeles County, the nation's most populous, on Monday will require some employers to provide "medical-grade" masks - surgical masks, KF94, KN95s or N95s - to workers at high risk of contracting a COVID-19 infection on the job.

Masks remain polarising. Biden, a Democrat, this week again urged people to wear masks and noted that about a third of Americans report they do not wear a mask at all. Many Republican-leaning states have no mask requirements. Some Democratic-governed states such as California have reimposed indoor mask mandates.

Blair Childs, an executive at Premier Inc, a group-purchasing company for hospitals, expressed concern about legislation backed by US Senator Bernie Sanders that would send every person in the country a pack of three N95 masks. Childs said such proposals could "throw the healthcare supply chain into disarray".

Days after taking office in January 2021, Biden imposed mask requirements on airplanes, trains and public transit and in airports and other transit hubs - actions his predecessor Donald Trump declined to take. Biden last month extended the transit mask requirements through Mar 18//CNA

FILE PHOTO: A security surveillance camera overlooking a street is pictured next to a nearby fluttering flag of China in Beijing, China November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins - 

China should keep improving institutional systems to prevent and resolve local government debt risks, the country's vice finance minister said on Saturday (Jan 15).

Xu Hongcai told a forum in Beijing that China should balance the promotion of investment with the prevention of risks, including in determining the scale of new government debt, and prevent excessive debt growth from affecting fiscal operations.

The ministry will work together with the National Development and Reform Commission to strengthen management of investment areas for special bonds, including prohibitions on funding vanity projects and projects not in the public interest, he said.

China will also crack down on illegal and irregular debt raising, and back-door debt financing, he said.

The call for improved risk controls comes as China plans to speed up the issuance of local government special bonds this year to help boost investment and cushion a slowing economy//CNA

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir participating in a dialogue with the Start-Up Singo Edan Malang community, in Malang city, East Java province, on Saturday (January 15, 2022). (ANTARA/Vicki Febrianto/uyu) - 

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir has said that he expects the number of unicorns, or start-ups with a valuation of more than $1 billion, in Indonesia to increase.

During a dialogue with the Start-Up Singo Edan Malang community, in Malang city, East Java province, on Saturday, he noted that compared to high-income countries, such as China and the United States, the number of unicorns in Indonesia is quite small.

"China has 107 unicorns, while America has more than 200 unicorns. However, Indonesia only has 8 unicorns," he stated.

Indonesia has enormous potential to increase the number of local unicorns since the country’s population is huge – meaning that Indonesia also has a large market and human resource pool for developing start-ups, Thohir added.

Hence, with such great potential, there should be more unicorns in Indonesia, he highlighted. He said he expects dozens of new Indonesian unicorns to be developed in the future.

"We want our country to become the fourth-largest economy in the world. Thus, it is not enough to only have eight unicorns. To achieve it, we must have at least 25 unicorns. I hope there will be one from Malang city," he remarked.

Hence, young Indonesians, including start-up actors in Malang city, must take advantage of the available opportunities by becoming a productive generation, the minister said.

"Do not be a consumptive generation. You must be productive. You certainly can do it," Thohir added.

Furthermore, he assured that the government will continue to encourage and assist in the establishment of new unicorns in Indonesia through programs such as the Merah Putih Fund and Sembrani Fund.

The Merah Putih Fund will mainly help ‘soonicorn’ start-ups -- enterprises with a valuation below $200 million -- to become unicorns, he said.

Meanwhile, the Sembrani Fund was launched by state-owned bank PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Tbk. as an investment program for local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he added.

As of 2021, Indonesia has eight unicorns, including Gojek (super-app services), Tokopedia (e-commerce), Traveloka (travel), Bukalapak (e-commerce), OVO (electronic payments), J&T Express (freight forwarder), Xendit (financial technology), and Ajaib (stock investment and online mutual fund)//ANT

State-owned electricity company PT. PLN (Persero) has continued to support the development of the economy in Papua and West Papua provinces as part of its corporate  social responsibility (CSR) towards the community.

In collaboration with the government of Jayapura city, Papua province, PLN inaugurated the "Nila" community-owned fish floss processing business in South Jayapura sub-district for improving the local community's economy.

Senior manager of finance, communication, and general affairs for PLN's Papua and West Papua regional main unit, Rio Widiya Nugraha, said this was a form of PLN's commitment and responsibility for supporting the community.

"Seeing the potential in Hamadi village, which is rich in fish catches, we assessed that it needs to be maximized by processing the fish (into processed products)," he said.

PLN hopes that the training would help the community to scale up production, he added. It is further hoped that the new knowledge acquired through training would stimulate innovation and help the community improve their product’s quality and boost sales, he said.

Meanwhile, the head of "Nila" group, Rosdiana, thanked PLN for providing training to the members of the group.

Production activities that had stopped earlier have resumed again with increased human resources capabilities, he observed. He expressed the hope that the group would become more productive in the future and earn more extra income.

In addition, Deputy Mayor of Jayapura, Rustan Saru, also lauded PLN and all parties who have coordinated, cooperated, and collaborated in helping the community, especially in the economic sector.

He said he hoped that the business run by the community would continue to improve both in terms of production and promotion.

Under its CSR program, PLN has also provided assistance worth Rp80 million to the Community Self-Support Agency (BKM) "Maju Bersama Hamadi" to empower the community and train them in fish processing, he noted.

Provided in collaboration with the Marine and Fisheries Office of Papua Province, the training is deemed necessary to improve the community's capacity, he said.

Not only that, PT. PLN’s Main Unit for Papua and West Papua Regions has also supported 39 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he pointed out.

General manager of PT. PLN’s Main Unit for Papua and West Papua Regions, Abdul Farid, said that the MSMEs are making several products including coffee, knitted bags, batik, and Papuan crowns.


PLN’s agricultural electrification program

PT PLN has also continued to support efforts to increase agricultural productivity in Papua by encouraging farmers to utilize electricity through the "Electrifying Agriculture" program.

Manager of PLN’s Timika city branch, Wahyu Prihatnala, said PLN's support in the agricultural sector is expected to help boost farmers’ welfare.

Among those that have benefited from the program is the SP4 Sopoyono Farmer Group of Wonosari Jaya village, Mimika Baru sub-district, Mimika district, who have switched from diesel fuel pumps to electric pumps for irrigating fields.

One of the farmers in the group, Budi, said that the electricity provided by PLN has greatly helped farmers as electricity is much cheaper than diesel.

A diesel pump requires about five liters of fuel, which costs Rp45 thousand to Rp50 thousand per day, to irrigate fields, he said.

In contrast, electricity for operating the pumps only costs Rp14 thousand, he added.

In addition, electricity has also allowed farmers to use lights at night to keep away pests and animals that can damage crops.

According to PLN's Farid, the "Electrifying Agriculture" program is one of PLN’s efforts to increase the competitiveness of local farmers, especially in Papua.

PLN continues to strive to maximize its services to all consumers, including farming business actors, one of which is by providing reliable, easy-to-reach, and accessible electricity services, he said.

The "Electrifying Agriculture" program is a part of PLN's spirit of transformation, he said adding, the reliability and ease in accessing electricity services continue to be improved for all business actors, including the agricultural sector.

"With this program and facilities, we hope farmers’ productivity can continue to increase so that farmers can compete amid difficult conditions such as the current pandemic," Farid remarked.


Assistance for business actors

Aside from supporting farmers, PLN has also distributed assistance of 40 induction stoves, worth Rp100 million, to Jayapura’s Numbay Coffee Community under the PLN Peduli (PLN Cares) program.

PLN has said it hopes that business actors will make the most of the assistance.

"This is a form of our concern for MSMEs in Papua, where this assistance is a stimulus for MSMEs, especially coffee shop entrepreneurs, to grow," PLN's Nugraha said.

The increasing popularity of coffee shops in Jayapura is a sign of the growing business climate in the city, he added.

The growth of coffee shops is hoped to improve the welfare of local coffee farmers supplying Papuan coffee beans to the shops, he said.

Meanwhile, Numbay Coffee Community chairman, Roger Liem, said that the induction stoves would be distributed to 38 coffee shops operated by the community.

In addition, PLN has also helped the "Doing Deep and Wise for New Generation" (D2WNG) community to provide coffee shop equipment to youth in Yoboi village, Sentani sub-district, Jayapura district.

Not only PLN, the Papua provincial government and several other parties also contributed to providing coffee shop equipment to the Yoboi youth, company officials said.

Secretary of the D2WNG community, Dhias Suwandi, said that after providing training for two days, his community donated coffee shop equipment to the Yoboi youth.

He said he hoped that after the training, the youth would put their knowledge into practice and open a small coffee shop in Yoboi village and support the village as one of the tourist attractions of Jayapura district//ANT