Roundup: Indonesia bans Eid-homecoming travel to curb COVID-19

JAKARTA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's Merak port which separates the two major islands of Java and Sumatra will only open two of its eight docks on May 6-17 in observing a travel ban on the annual exodus, locally known as "mudik", ahead of the Islamic holy festival Eid al-Fitr to curb the spread of COVID-19. "The two docks are only for vehicles carrying logistics and staples," Ira Puspadewi, managing director of the state-owned passenger ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, said. In the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, this big port was usually crowded with hundreds of thousands of people on their way back home to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival with their families. This year, vehicles carrying passengers were prohibited from crossing to Sumatra Island and they were asked to turn around. The travel ban imposed by the government also applies to travel by air or land, with road blocks erected on toll roads and regional borders. "This policy applies to all passenger cars, buses, ships and aircraft, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19," said Adita Irawati, an official at the Transportation Ministry. Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country with a tradition of urban migrants returning to their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with their families after the fasting month Ramadan. This year, Eid al-Fitr falls on May 14 in the Southeast Asian country. According to a survey by the transportation ministry, 7 percent of the surveyed people have said they would continue their homecoming journey despite a travel ban. President Joko Widodo admitted he was worried that many people would be reckless to "mudik" this year. Moreover, Indonesia has a history of long holidays followed by increased mobility, and consequently a spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths. Such situation in the past had caused a strain on the medical system, with hospitals filled with new patients and bed occupancy rate exceeding the normal limit. The death toll from COVID-19 had jumped to 2,000 per month following long holidays, compared to up to 900 in other months. "I understand, we all definitely miss our relatives, especially for Eid. But let's prioritize safety together by not going back to our hometowns," said Widodo. The president has urged governors, regents and mayors throughout Indonesia to continue to convey the ban on "mudik" to the public and order health protocol discipline. At the same time, the Indonesian government is anticipating a spike in COVID-19 cases. Moreover, three new variants of the coronavirus, which are more contagious, have entered Indonesia. The Indonesian police have deployed a total of 155,000 personnel in 381 checkpoints from South Sumatra in the west, the most populous Java Island, to Bali in the eastern part of the archipelagic country. "On the first day of the ban, we intercepted 23,573 vehicles that were suspected of going on a homecoming trip," said Indonesian National Police spokesperson Argo Yuwono. Some people had flocked back to their hometowns before the travel ban took effect on Thursday. In Central Java, one of the 34 provinces in Indonesia, for example, official data showed around 2,000 urban migrants returned home per day before May 6. "This shows that we really have to be prepared," said Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo. The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia increased 6,327 in the past 24 hours to 1,703,632, with the death toll adding by 167 to 46,663, the Health Ministry said on Friday. *http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-05/07/c_139931207.htm

Feature: Vaccination continues for Muslims in Indonesia in holy month of Ramadan

JAKARTA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Fetry Asti, 30, did not hesitate to get a second jab of the COVID-19 vaccine even though she was fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. Working as a journalist for a daily newspaper means more chances to be exposed to the coronavirus. She has to go outdoors often in order to cover news events, and believes that vaccination is the right way to protect herself from the pandemic. On Wednesday, she traveled 8.5 km from home in the east of the capital to Jakarta City Hall to receive the vaccine. "The vaccination must be complete on time. If it is not, we have to rebuild the antibodies all over again," Asti noted. Indonesia is pushing its COVID-19 vaccination drive in the holy month of Ramadan or 30 days with daily fasting from around 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the Muslim community, which accounts for majority of the country's population. The Health Ministry's spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the inoculation campaign has continued after the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a top Muslim clerical body, issued a fatwa that COVID-19 vaccination is allowed in Ramadan and it does not break their fast. "Based on this recommendation, we continue to carry out vaccination during the month of Ramadan," said Tarmizi. Tarmizi added that vaccination participants only need to get enough rest and eat nutritious food during pre-dawn meal before taking the jab. "COVID-19 vaccination, which is carried out by intramuscular injection, does not break the fast," said Asrorun Ni'am Sholeh, chief of the MUI Fatwa Commission. Moreover, the MUI made three recommendations in order that the COVID-19 vaccination in Ramadan will run smoothly in Indonesia. First, vaccination during the fasting month is allowed to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 by adjusting the physical condition of fasting Muslims. Second, vaccination can be done in the day or night after Muslims break their fasting if it is feared will weaken their physical condition. The third recommendation is that Muslims must participate in COVID-19 vaccination in order to realize herd immunity against the pandemic. Vaccination against COVID-19 in Indonesia kicked off on Jan. 13 this year, with a target of inoculating 181.5 million people until next year. As of Thursday, Indonesia had administered 17.92 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 6.49 million second doses for people. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Southeast Asian country was recorded at 1,626,812, with 1,481,449 recoveries and 44,172 deaths. *http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2021-04/22/c_139898931.htm

Roundup: Indonesian companies participate in special COVID-19 vaccination scheme for faster herd immunity

JAKARTA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of companies in Indonesia have registered to participate in a COVID-19 vaccination program locally known as "Gotong Royong" to help the country achieve herd immunity faster. In this scheme, companies or legal entities can arrange the COVID-19 vaccine rollout for their employees for free. Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rosan Perkasa Roeslani said that 11,542 companies have registered for a total of 7,403,356 employees in the Gotong Royong Vaccination program. "The registration not only involves big companies but also medium-sized, and even small business players. I was surprised," said Roeslani, recently. The first phase of the registration for the Gotong Royong Vaccination program took place from Jan. 28 to Feb. 28, and the second phase is scheduled for March 10 and will last through March 24. Through this measure, the employees involved will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at an early date. It is the companies' responsibility to make employees feel safe and comfortable at work, thereby increasing productivity, Roeslani said. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said vaccine procurement for the scheme is carried out by the Ministry of State Owned Enterprises in collaboration with the state-owned vaccine manufacturer PT Bio Farma. Health ministry spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the Gotong Royong Vaccination program will not use Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Novavax, and Pfizer vaccines in order not to overlap with the government's vaccination program. The vaccine administration will be carried out in eligible private clinics. "It is not in the same health service facilities where the government vaccination program is held," Tarmizi said. According to Bio Farma's Chief Executive Officer Honesti Basyir, the company has signed agreements to buy the Sinopharm and Moderna vaccines for use in the Gotong Royong Vaccination program. *http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-03/21/c_139825676.htm

Feature: Indonesian group sheds light for confusion over post-COVID-19 symptoms

JAKARTA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Juno Simorangkir, 36, a COVID-19 survivor in Indonesia, felt very confused when he faces the "long COVID" phenomenon. Even though he recovered from the infection and was confirmed negative for COVID-19 in April 2020, Simorangkir still felt symptoms of the disease in his body like hair loss, fatigue, coughing, hypertension and left chest pain. "There are up to 40 symptoms that I feel," Simorangkir told Xinhua on Wednesday. Simorangkir had consulted several doctors including pulmonologist, cardiologist, and internist, but they did not find anything unusual in his body. Results of an electrocardiogram test also concluded that Simorangkir was in good condition. In May 2020, Simorangkir started to meet with other COVID-19 survivors from various countries via the internet. They feel the same after-effects of COVID-19 as he suffers. In August 2020, Simorangkir participated in an international meeting of COVID-19 survivors with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, virtually. The meeting inspired Simorangkir to create COVID Survivor Indonesia (CSI), a group of survivors to support each other and share information. "With this group, we hope that no one will be confused with the 'long COVID' phenomenon, or feel lonely and sad amidst pains," said Simorangkir. When it was created in last August 2020, CSI was only based on a Facebook group, and now, this community has an Instagram account with more than 7,400 followers. Apart from survivors, the group is also supported by doctors, epidemiologists, and psychologists. Once in a while, CSI holds virtual discussions, inviting experts as speakers. Last month, the discussion was about the safety of vaccines for survivors, while in early March the discussion was about how to care for mental conditions after recovering from COVID-19. They also held the #BeatTheStigma campaign, to fight the stigma against COVID-19 survivors. There are many survivors who suffer a variety of discriminations because they were considered as community trash and source of infections. They were also ostracized, and terminated from their jobs as they were constantly sick and considered unproductive. One of the CSI members is Alida Susanti, 40, a resident of Depok city, West Java province, who lost her father due to COVID-19 and has felt the symptoms of "long COVID" until now. Amidst such a confusion with a series of symptoms, in December 2020, Susanti got acquainted with CSI via the Internet and felt that the group was very useful. The group answers the survivors' anxiety over the symptoms, and straightens out hoaxes circulating on various social media, said Susanti. Since then, Susanti has joined CSI and volunteered to spread information about "long COVID." At a press conference in Geneva on Feb. 12, Tedros said "long COVID" affects patients with both severe and mild COVID-19, and the best way to prevent this condition is to prevent COVID-19 in the first place. Dr. Janet Diaz, an expert with the WHO's Health Care Readiness team, said at another press conference that the post-COVID-19 condition was a heterogeneous group of symptoms that could occur up to six months after the illness. According to the expert, reports showed that the most common symptoms were fatigue, post-exertional malaise, and cognitive disfunction sometimes described as "brain fog." Shortness of breath, coughing, mental and neurological complications have also been reported, she said. Dr. Diaz explained that patients experiencing this condition "could have been hospitalized patients," but also those with mild symptoms, who were treated in ambulatory settings. "There is still a need to better understand this condition. It is not yet clear who is most at risk, and why it is happening in the first place," she said. *http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2021-03/13/c_139808159.htm

Roundup: Indonesia imposes stricter restrictions to prevent spike in COVID-19 cases after year-end holidays

JAKARTA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has been imposing stricter restrictions from Dec. 18 to Jan. 8, 2021 to prevent a spike in COVID-19 cases after the Christmas and year-end holiday seasons, officials said. Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the number of daily cases and deaths rose after long holidays at the end of October this year, especially in Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, North Sumatra, Bali and South Kalimantan. "Previously, the trend of the cases in these areas had decreased," Pandjaitan, concurrently a deputy chairman of the National Committee for the COVID-19 Mitigation and Economic Recovery, told a meeting with ministers and regional heads on Monday. Every year in Indonesia, there is an exodus of people who work in major cities returning to their villages or towns of origin for family gatherings or just traveling during the Christmas and year-end holidays. This time, to deal with the exodus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has forbidden celebrations and gatherings of more than five people in public areas, and limited hours of service activities. Jakarta's Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria also emphasized that there would be no year-end celebrations in the capital city this year. The Jakarta administration has also limited operational hours for offices, malls, cafes, restaurants, places of interest and tourist attractions to 7:00 p.m. local time with a maximum capacity of 50 percent each. Meanwhile, Jakarta's Governor Anies Baswedan said, "We want them to remain at home." The central government also required people traveling to Jakarta and Yogyakarta province during that period to show negative antigen rapid test results. Bali, which required people only to show rapid test results, now obliges them to bring negative swab test results. In the meantime, South Tangerang city in Banten province does not require rapid antigen or swab test results, but encouraged the community in the city to strengthen micro-scale social restrictions, Mayor Airin Rachmi Diany said. The South Tangerang administration has also prohibited any gathering and limited the operating hours of malls and restaurants to 7:00 p.m. as have been done in the provinces of Lampung, West Java, and North Sulawesi. National COVID-19 Task Force's spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said the rise in the COVID-19 cases did not only occur during the long weekend last October but also happened after the Eid al-Fitr holidays (Islam's post fasting festivities) in May and the Independence Day vacation in August this year. The spike in the cases could trigger next impacts such as fully occupied hospitals and increases in medical workers' burdens, Adisasmito said. Meanwhile, the occupancy rates of isolation rooms and intensive care units at hospitals in several areas have exceeded 70 percent due to the soaring number of daily COVID-19 cases. Adisasmito noted that the average active cases in December were recorded at 14.39 percent of the total COVID-19 cases, up from 13.78 percent last month. As of Saturday, Indonesia has recorded a total of 657,948 cases, the highest in Southeast Asia, with 536,260 recovered patients and 19,659 people dead. To achieve herd immunity and end the pandemic, President Joko Widodo said the government would provide the people with the COVID-19 vaccines for free. "So there is no more reason that the public would not get the vaccines," Widodo said on Thursday. The president also emphasized that he would be among the first to be vaccinated in Indonesia to convince the public that the vaccine is safe. *http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2020-12/20/c_139604755.htm

Indonesia to reopen schools next year amid COVID-19 pandemic

JAKARTA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Students in Indonesia are expected to resume school as of January 2021 amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. 

Indonesian Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim said the school reopening is based on the level of risk of COVID-19 spread, the schools' readiness, and the orderly health protocols. 

Every student or teacher coming to school has to wear mask when he or she has a temperature of fewer than 38 centigrade, and wash hands with soaps frequently. 

Students would take turns coming to school, as 50 percent of them would be allowed in the class to maintain the distance protocol, while the rest would learn at home. 

Specifically, each class for early childhood education and the disabled only accommodates a maximum of five students. 

Learning activities proceed without sport exercises and extracurricular activities, while school canteens are closed. 

Makarim said that the reopening of schools should be based on the approval of the local administrations, school principals, and parents. 

"If the three parties agree, it means face-to-face schools can begin to be implemented," Makarim said last week. 

Schools would map students and employees who have comorbidities, those who do not have safe access to transportation, and those who have histories of travels from high-risk areas. Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said health protocols to prevent transmission of cases are most important. "

Wearing a mask, keeping physical distancing, and washing hands are an adaptation to a new normal that must be applied with high discipline," he said. 

Putranto also said there are supports from community health centers in every sub-district to ensure health services for every student. 

Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian underlined the importance of checking COVID-19 transmission outside school buildings. 

The Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) supports the reopening of schools, but suggests that the implementation cannot be fully left to the local governments. 

The central government needs to formulate an emergency curriculum, the association's General Chairperson Unifah Rosyidi said. 

"The government needs to simplify the curriculum because during pandemic learning activities, it cannot be carried out with a normal duration," added Rosyidi. 

The Indonesian Commission for the Protection of Children (KPAI) emphasized that the government needs to ensure that children should be protected from COVID-19 and schools should not become new clusters of transmission. "

There must be well-planned information, communication, coordination, and complaint systems so that the central and local governments can work together to prepare the reopening of schools," the KPAI's Commissioner Retno Listyarti said. 

The Jakarta Education Office is currently reviewing which schools are ready to operate in January 2021. 

The office's head Nahdiana said they need to prepare school sanitation and hygiene facilities, in addition to ensuring that they apply the rule on wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, and washing hands. 

"The most important thing is that children must be healthy before they learn," Nahdiana added. 

Australia's Griffith University's Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman said the government should maximize case-control first for about three months, and the result can be used to make decisions to reopen schools. 

Budiman explained that there are three criteria for reopening schools, namely the decline in daily cases for two consecutive weeks, the trend of decreasing cases with a positivity rate below 5 percent, and a single-digit daily death rate from COVID-19. Currently, Indonesia's positivity rate is still above 10 percent. 

*http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-11/29/c_139551417.htm