Breaking the chain of COVID-19 transmission by Fardah

Jakarta, April 14, 2020 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, which declared the coronavirus outbreak a national emergency ever since it emerged in March, has finally accorded the pandemic national disaster status as it has now spread to all 34 provinces in the country.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) signed a letter (number 12/2020), dated 13 April, 2020, on the national disaster status and the appointment of head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Doni Monardo, to lead the COVID-19 task force.

The Task Force for the Accelerated Handling of COVID-19 will work on mitigating the impact of the pandemic through coordinated effort with the concerned ministries, government agencies, and regional administrations.

Jokowi has also assigned governors, district heads, and city mayors as heads of the COVID-19 task forces in their respective regions. While drawing up regional policies, they will be required to refer to the policies formulated by the central government.

As of April 14, Indonesia has reported 4,839 confirmed cases. While the death toll from the contagion has reached 459, a total of 426 patients have completely recovered from the infection.

On March 31, President Jokowi signed Government Regulation No. 21 of 2020 on the imposition of Large-Scale Social Distancing (PSBB) measures to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission in the country.

Guidelines have been set forth for local governments for implementing PSBB in the Minister of Health's Regulation (Permenkes) No. 9 of 2020 on accelerating the response to the COVID-19 crisis.

As per the health minister's regulation,PSBB applications submitted by local governments need to be accompanied with data on the number of confirmed cases and maps of their distribution, among other things.

COVID-19: Indonesians overseas being monitored, assisted by Fardah

Jakarta, April 13, 2020 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is continuing to battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak with 4,557 confirmed cases reported across 34 provinces, along with 399 deaths and 380 recoveries, as of April 13, 2020.

To curb infections, the government has imposed large-scale social distancing measures, banned any kind of activities that involve gathering of people, closed tourist and amusement centers as well as places of worship, and ordered students to study and employees to work from their homes.

While the country wages war against the deadly virus at home, the government has also promised to protect and help Indonesian citizens studying, working, or visiting overseas.

With their countries of residence or travel destinations imposing lockdowns or quarantines, sealing borders, and banning or restricting international flights to slow the spread of the virus, many Indonesian nationals have been left “trapped” or “stranded”.

The Indonesian Government has vowed that the safety and protection of Indonesian nationals overseas remains its highest priority.

"We have provided assistance in more than 1,600 cases involving Indonesian nationals abroad, and support has been provided by our representatives," Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi told the press on March 26.

Amid the global spike in the number of coronavirus patients, authorities in foreign countries had earlier appealed to Indonesians abroad to return to Indonesia in view of the risk of flight cancellations owing to the imposition of travel restrictions. But, many of them could not make it due to various reasons.

Indonesia not alone in fight against COVID-19 pandemic by Fardah

Jakarta, April 10, 2020 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is not alone in its battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as several nations have offered assistance to the country although they are also facing a similar ordeal.

"Only if we are together we can deal with this (coronavirus outbreak),” President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said on April 10, 2020 — more than a month after he announced the country’s first two confirmed COVID-19 cases (March 2, 2020).

Indonesia has so far received assistance from at least nine countries for ensuring the smooth supply of medical equipment to accelerate efforts to contain the pandemic.
“Government-to-government assistance is coming from nine countries, namely China, Japan, the US, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told the press via video conference on April 9, 2020.
In addition, Indonesia has received support from various international organizations and entities, namely the WHO, ADB, IAEA, UNDP, IOM, Global Fund, and UNICEF.
Furthermore, Indonesia has recorded assistance from 42 private and non-governmental organizations from nine countries, namely China, Singapore, Korea, Vietnam, France, Russia, Germany, Japan, and Sweden.
"Most of the assistance comprises masks, rapid test kits, and protective equipment," Retno informed.
Indonesia has said it urgently needs protective equipment, masks, rapid diagnostic kits, dacron swabs, ventilators, RT-PCR kits and reagents, and thermometers.
"These seven medical devices are the most urgently needed by Indonesia and it is the concern of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate them in the future," said Daniel Tumpal Simanjuntak from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is helping coordinate international assistance to deal with COVID-19.
Protective medical gear are, at present, the most needed by Indonesia, which has lost at least 26 doctors and several nurses to COVID-19 while treating infected patients.

The country has been facing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers fighting on the frontlines of the battle against the deadly virus. Hence, the nation has been racing to procure adequate PPE.

Global cooperation crucial in fight against COVID-19 by Fardah

Jakarta, April 9, 2020 The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected 209 countries and territories across the world, with 1,529,968 people testing positive for the virus and 89,426 succumbing to it as of April 9, 2020.

While many countries struggle to contain COVID-19 transmission, reports have emerged in transnational media recently about allegations against the US of redirecting 200,000 Germany-bound masks for its own use, a move that has been condemned as "modern piracy”.

Last week, there was a report about the U.S. government taking over Chinese supplies of medical equipment ordered by Brazil to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The US Government, however, has denied the two reports.

The reports of the US “hijacking” medical supplies indicate that even the superpower is struggling to stem the spread of infections on its own and is depending on assistance from others.

Over the last 100 days, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc in wealthy nations, and it is likely to devastate poorer and more vulnerable countries, socially and economically, by disrupting the global supply chain.

“Without help and action now, poor countries and vulnerable communities could suffer massive devastation,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, said on April 9, 2020.

During a virtual extraordinary summit of G20 leaders, chaired by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on March 26, 2020, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called for collaboration on coronavirus control and prevention.

He asked world leaders to facilitate trade of vaccines as well as other medical equipment by easing tariffs on their import and export.

"The G20 must actively lead efforts to find the anti-virus and medication for COVID-19, of course, hand in hand with the WHO," he advised.

INDONESIA'S REGIONAL HEAD ELECTIONS POSTPONED OVER COVID-19 PANDEMIC by Fardah

Jakarta, 7/4/2020 (Antara) - The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought several countries to a near standstill, as activities involving the congregation of public, including music concerts, sports games, conferences, tourism bourses, and festivals, are either postponed or cancelled.
In Indonesia, the COVID-19 crisis has left Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan with no choice but to announce on March 11 the postponement of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the 2020 Jakarta E-Prix, earlier scheduled for June this year.
On April 6, Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto had also decided to postpone the country's largest trade exhibition, the Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) 2020, scheduled for September, to stem the further transmission of COVID-19.
The fourth simultaneous regional head elections (pilkada), earlier scheduled for September this year, was another major event that was postponed owing to the coronavirus outbreak.
The simultaneous pilkada was planned to be held in 270 regions across the country to elect governors in nine provinces, district heads in 224 districts, and mayors in 37 cities on September 23, 2020. The number of eligible voters in the fourth pilkada reached at least 105 million.
The decision to postpone pilkada was made during a hearing of Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR), with attendees comprising officials of the Home Affairs Ministry, Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU), General Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), and the Code of Ethic Council for the Implementation of Elections (DKPP) in Jakarta on March 30, 2020.
The DPR, Home Affairs Ministry, and KPU will discuss and decide when it will be organized, Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tanjung, chairman of Commission II, stated following the hearing.
Earlier, on March 8, six days after President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had announced the first two confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, KPU Chairman Arief Budiman noted that 270 regions were ready to hold the 2020 pilkada.
"Three aspects to be prepared ahead of the local elections to date are regulations, human resources (HR), and the budget," he stated while addressing a seminar on "Seeking Quality Leaders and of Integrity towards the 2020 Peaceful Elections" organized by the University of Jember, East Java Province.

Waging war against an invisible enemy called COVID-19 by Fardah

Jakarta, April 4, 2020 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is currently battling an invisible, fast-moving enemy called the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 1.1 million people and killed 59,245 people globally, including 181 in Indonesia as of April 4, 2020.

Originating from Wuhan, China in late 2019, the infectious disease has infected a total of 1,119,733 people in at least 180 countries, of whom, 229,338 have been cured, as per April 4 data.

In Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation with over 270 million people, there have been 1,986 confirmed cases with 134 patients recovering from the infection so far. The number of cases in Indonesia has been relatively small because so far, very few people have undergone COVID-19 tests due to lack of testing kits, among other things.

The fight against the virus in Indonesia is headed by Health Minister Dr. Terawan Agus Putranto, a major general in the Army.

On March 2, 2020, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had announced the first two positive coronavirus cases in the country. Ten days later, he had signed a presidential decree appointing Lt. Gen Doni Monardo, also an Army general and head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), as chief of the Task Force for Accelerated COVID-19 Response.
The task force comprises officials from several ministries and institutions, including the Health Ministry, the Indonesian Intelligence Agency (BIN), and the National Police’s intelligence department, among others.

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers are on the frontlines of the ongoing “war”. They have worked all-out for long hours, and sometimes with limited equipment to protect themselves. A month since the beginning of the war against the contagion, at least 18 Indonesian doctors and several nurses have died of coronavirus disease.