STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL UNDER STRICT HEALTH PROTOCOLS by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 30/9 /2021 (ANTARA) - Indonesia has managed to overcome a drastic COVID-19 spike triggered by the Delta variant and culminating in July 2021 after imposing tough public activity restrictions dubbed as PPKM level 4 for nearly two months.

The national task force for COVID-19, on September 19, 2021, recorded 1,954 fresh confirmed cases and 117 deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing the tally to 4,213,414 cases and the death toll to 141,826.

The figures showed a sharp decline compared to 56,757 fresh confirmed cases recorded on July 15, 2021, and daily deaths at 2,069 on July 29, as Indonesia's daily COVID-19 cases hit a record when the country faced the second COVID-19 wave that had overwhelmed the nation's medical facilities.

Following the significant drop in new cases, the government has decided to ease the semi-lockdown measures and lower the PPKM levels to 2 or 1 in several regions.

Another factor leading to the decision is that the country's vaccination rate is relatively high, even higher than the target set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The authorities have administered 90,361,002 first shots, accounting for 43.3 percent of the target of over 208 million, and 50,688,220 second shots, or 24.3 percent of September 29, 2021, afternoon.

The government rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination program on January 13, 2021, for healthcare workers, public service officers, elderly people, and teachers. Later, students aged 12 years old and above were also covered.

As nearly all teachers and many students have been vaccinated, a face-to-face learning process becomes possible, so several schools are allowed to open under strict health protocols.

"We hope to start (face-to-face learning activities) as soon as possible because we want the students to immediately get the knowledge back in school," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said recently while reviewing COVID-19 vaccinations at the State High School 3 in Wajo District, South Sulawesi.

INDONESIANS PREPARE TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH COVID-19by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 29/9/2021 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has been racing to inoculate over 208 million citizens as the nation prepares to learn to live with COVID-19, which has continued to linger since early 2020.

The nation, which rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination program on January 13, 2021, has administered 89.8 million first shots, accounting for 43.1 percent of the target, and 50.4 million second shots, or 24.2 percent of the target, as of September 29, 2021.

According to the task force for COVID-19 handling, Indonesia added 2,057 daily COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the tally to 4,211,460, while total recoveries reached 4,031,099 and deaths touched 141,709.

Indonesia is listed among the top 10 countries with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world, Reisa Broto Asmoro, spokesperson and ambassador for the Adaptation of New Habits, pointed out.

The achievement has exceeded the vaccination target of 10 percent of the population of each country by September 2021, 40 percent of the population in each country by the end of 2021, and 70 percent of the world's population by mid-2022, as set by the World Health Organization (WHO), she noted.

Globally, 43.9 percent of the world's population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, she said. A total of 6.03 billion doses have been administered and 28.15 million vaccines provided to the global population each day, she said.

She revealed that as of September 24, 2021, Indonesia has obtained more than 273.6 million vaccine doses through direct purchase, global cooperation through the Covax facility, and donations from countries, including the United States, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and France.

From January to late September 2021, the government has distributed about 200 million doses across Indonesia, she said.

In the beginning, Indonesia relied on the CoronaVac vaccine purchased from Chinas Sinovac pharmaceutical company, Asmoro noted. The vaccine was purchased both in finished form and in bulk for further processing by Indonesias state-owned Bio Farma, which has also established cooperation for CoronaVac production with Sinovac, she said.

INDONESIA TO FOCUS ON ECONOMIC RECOVERY DURING G20 PRESIDENCY by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 22/9/2021(ANTARA) - Indonesia will assume the Presidency of G20 in late 2021 for the first time since the forum was established in 1999. Indonesia was invited to join the forum in 2008.

Italy, the current G20 president, will hand over the presidency to Indonesia at the Rome Summit, which is scheduled on October 30-31, 2021.

Indonesia was elected to the G20 Presidency for 2022 during the G20 Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in November 2020.

It will hold the G20 Presidency, themed Recover Together, Recover Stronger to reflect the spirit of collective recovery, from December 1, 2021 till November 2022.

The Group of 20 or G20 is an international forum that brings together the worlds major economies. Its members account for more than 80 percent of global GDP (gross domestic product), 75 percent of global trade, and 60 percent of the population of the planet.

The G20 members comprise Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. Spain is also invited as a permanent guest.

In fact, Indonesia, the worlds fourth most populous nation, is the only ASEAN (Association of the Southeast Asian Nations) state that was invited to join as a G20 member.

To ensure the smooth and successful implementation of the G20 events that will be hosted by Indonesia next year, President Joko Widodo has issued decree No. 12 of 2021 on the National Organizing Committee (OC) of the Indonesian G20 Presidency.

The OC members include Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, as chairman I of Sherpa Track; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno L. P. Marsudi, as chairman II of Sherpa Track; Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, as chairman I of Finance Track; the Governor of Bank Indonesia as chairman II of Finance Track; Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security, Mahfud MD, as chairman of events; and Minister of Communication and Informatics, Johnny G. Plate, as chairman of communication and media for the G20 Summit.

Indonesia will have seven priority agendas for the finance track for Indonesia's G20 Presidency in 2022, according to Minister Indrawati.

 

 

Puisi

Coretan untuk Penantara

Aku tak pandai menulis puisi
Juga tak biasa berfantasi
Ku hanya  sampaikan coretan sederhana
Sebagai tanda ku turut serta
Berlayar dalam bahtera  Penantara

Di penghujung usia kita
Tetap menjalin silaturahim lewat WA
Tutup ruang  syak wasangka
Hilangkan rasa dengki dan iri
Pelihara kesucian  hati

Kenanglah  hal yang indah-indah saja
Saat muda dan berkarya di Antara
Bekerja  siang dan malam
Menjalin kebersamaan
Serta bercanda bersama teman-teman

Buang jauh kenangan pahit
Agar sehat dan jauh dari penyakit
Selagi masih ada rezeki, jangan pelit
Mari selalu berbagi, walau hanya sedikit

Biarkan hal-hal sepele berlalu
Tak berguna kita terpaku
Mari saling menyapa dan tersenyum
Hidup terlalu singkat untuk muram dan murung

Wadah bagi para lansia
Yang terkadang ceriwis, kadang ceria
Ruang untuk melepas rindu dan bercanda
Damai dan maju selalu Penantara tercinta

Pondok Gede, 31 Agustus 2021
Fardah


Dirundung COVID-19

Di penghujung tahun  dua ribu sembilan belas
Muncul hantaman yang sangat keras
Tanpa diduga, dunia dilanda COVID
Yang membuat  kehidupan morat marit

COVID membuyarkan rencana dan impian
Banyak orang terpapar bergantian
Korbanya  pria mau pun wanita
Tak memandang  tua  atau muda

Rumah sakit penuh  berjejalan
Hingga tenaga kesehatan kewalahan
COVID-19  banyak memakan  korban
Menyebar petaka dan kemalangan

Sejumlah dokter dan perawat pun gugur
Tak sedikit anak-anak melihat orangtua dikubur
Mendadak menjadi  yatim  dan hati hancur

Perekonomian dunia  terjungkal
Pariwisata global mati suri
Manusia  dalam rumah terkunci

Orang miskin bertambah papa
Mereka tak bekerja dan tak berdaya
Anehnya,  banyak pejabat makin kaya raya
 
Namun, takdir membawa hikmah
Keluarga makin dekat
Alam mulai bersih dan sehat
 
Pondok Gede,  14 September 2021
Fardah

Bionarasi:
Fardah terlahir di Surabaya,  Jawa Timur pada  17 November 1961, dari ibu kelahiran Gresik dan ayah dari Banjarmasin. Tumbuh dan besar di Kota Pahlawan,  sekeluarga pindah ke Jakarta pada tahun 1979 karena tuntutan pekerjaan ayah.
Setelah  lulus Program Diploma Inggris, Universitas Indonesia (UI) di Kampus UI Rawamangun pada tahun 1984,  langsung mulai bekerja di LKBN Antara di bagian Redaksi Inggris.
Bekerja aktif sebagai redaktur di Antara hingga tahun 2019,  membuat impian menjadi nyata, yaitu mengunjungi berbagai negara , mengenali sejumlah suku bangsa, dan menikmati keindahan alam semesta.

INDONESIA PUSHES VACCINATION DRIVE FURTHER IN COVID-19 FIGHT by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 7/9/2021 (ANTARA) - After a long battle since June 2021, Indonesia has finally emerged from the second tsunami wave of COVID-19 infections.

This has been made possible through the assistance of all stakeholders at the national level and several countries that have donated vaccines, medicines, oxygen, and other medical equipment to aid Indonesia's COVID-handling efforts.

Triggered by the Delta variant, the drastic COVID-19 spike overwhelmed the nation, with daily cases hitting a record 56,757 on July 15, 2021. The highest daily deaths were recorded at 2,069 on July 27, 2021.

Following the implementation of strict restrictions on peoples movement since July 3, 2021 and an accelerated vaccination program, the country managed to bring down daily cases to 7,201 on September 7, 2021, bringing the total COVID-19 tally to 4,140,634. Meanwhile, the daily deaths stood at 683, taking the total toll to 137,156.

The Health Ministry highlighted the positive trend in developments pertaining to efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, as evidenced by a decline in the case count.

The number of confirmed cases have declined up to 25 percent, the mortality rate has gone down by 37 percent, and the positivity rate has decreased by 10.36 percent, while the recovery rate has continued to increase, it said.

"The key to successful handling of COVID-19 is strongly influenced by several factors, including the vaccination program, which plays a vital and very important role," Vice President Maruf Amin said while reviewing a vaccination program at UI Salemba in Jakarta on September 7, 2021.

Amin appealed to people, who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, to continue to follow strict health protocols. He also asked regional authorities to intensify the 3Ts (testing, tracing, and treatment).

Despite geographical constraints, the government is targeting to vaccinate 208 million people, or 77 percent of the total population, against COVID-19 before the end of this year.