VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian government’s spokesman for COVID-19 handling, Achmad Yurianto, during the daily press briefing on COVID-19,  announced on Wednesday that 10 Indonesian cities and districts had enacted the Large-Scale Social Distancing (PSBB) protocols to contain the coronavirus transmission. As stated by Antara News Agency on Wednesday, Jakarta is the first area to have adopted such measure, followed by Bogor City, Bogor District, Depok City, Bekasi City, Bekasi District, Tangerang City, Tangerang District, and South Tangerang City, which are all neighboring the capital, as well as Pekanbaru City. The government urged people to abide by the PSBB guidelines, including limiting their social activities in public and maintaining a distance of two meters between one another. Indonesia reported a total of 5,136 confirmed positive cases for coronavirus infection after testing through the real-time PCR method on 11,165 patients under surveillance (PDP) until April 15. (ANTARA)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is giving priority to economic stimulus for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which contribute 60 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employ 97 percent of the people. As quoted by Antara News Agency,  Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs, Teten Masduki, on Wednesday in Jakarta stated that based on the President's instruction, economic stimulus is (being) prioritized for MSMEs because this sector contributes to 60 percent of the GDP and employs up to 97 percent (of the total population). The stimulus policy is directed at MSMEs because 99 percent of business operators in Indonesia is engaged in the MSME sector, and the majority of such enterprises are micro-businesses. Therefore, Teten noted, President Joko Widodo has requested that the MSME loan restructuring program be expanded. (ANTARA)

The Indonesian military has stepped up security along the border with Malaysia to prevent potential coronavirus transmissions from people entering the country illegally. As quoted by Antara News Agency, Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto in a virtual working meeting on Wednesday with Commission I of the House of Representatives stated that for instance, along the border in Kalimantan, there are thousands of illegal routes and also legal routes guarded by the TNI and Malaysian military. 

Three days ago, Malaysia withdrew its soldiers from joint cross-border posts after the country imposed a lockdown on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Tjahjanto said he has instructed TNI personnel to remain at the joint posts as well as other posts along illegal routes//Ant

More than 22 thousand volunteers have joined the Indonesian Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response. As quoted by Antara News Agency,  Achmad Yurianto, the government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling on Wednesday stated that  over 22,000 volunteers have voluntarily registered with the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response at the national and regional level. He expressed his gratitude to volunteers for supporting the Task Force. He stated that he would like to thank the volunteers who have expressed their willingness to work together in an integrated system to overcome COVID-19.More than 800 hospitals owned by the central government, regional governments, state-owned enterprises (BUMN), the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), the Indonesian Police (Polri), and the private sector have been providing medical services to patients infected with the novel coronavirus disease//ant