Indonesia sends more rescuers as extreme weather hampers search after landslide

J AKARTA—More rescuers and heavy machinery will be sent to Indonesia’s disaster-hit Serasan Island to search for dozens still missing after a deadly landslide, a disaster official said on Tuesday. 

The landslide struck Monday in the remote Natuna region between Borneo and peninsular Malaysia.

Poor weather and downed communication lines have complicated rescue efforts on the island, which is home to about 8,000 people.

Pictures provided by Natuna's communication and information agency showed houses reduced to rubble, with fallen trees and torn roofs visible.

Body bags were lined up on top of a blue tarpaulin as officials gathered to pray for the victims.

Rescuers have managed to find 11 bodies so far, but villagers put the death toll at 15, according to Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB).

Another 47 people are still missing, while at least 1,200 people have had to seek shelter because of the disaster, he added.

"There are 82 search and rescue personnel on Serasan Island. Fifteen more officers from Jakarta will join the effort tomorrow," Muhari told AFP on Tuesday evening.

Heavy-duty vehicles, along with two helicopters, will also help the search and aid distribution efforts. 

WEATHER HAMPERS RESCUE

Heavy rain has forced intermittent pauses in the rescue operation.

"The rain intensity is still quite high in Serasan," Muhari said, adding that the downpours have been lashing the island since the end of last month.

"The team's safety is of utmost importance amid the high-intensity rain," he said. "We keep observing the weather, so as (it) improves, we will continue the search."

Rescuers were focusing their efforts along a stretch of road near a cliff where around 30 houses were reportedly buried by the landslide.

Muhari had earlier said that the agency was sending food and tents, as well as satellite communication equipment and two helicopters in a bid to establish communication lines and speed up aid.

Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, aggravated in some places by deforestation, and prolonged torrential rain has caused flooding in different areas of the archipelago nation.

Experts say the country's weather-related disasters are likely being made worse by climate change.

Floods further south in Banjar district, in the Indonesian part of Borneo, have inundated more than 17,000 houses and disrupted lives for a month.

Neighboring Malaysia has also been hit with torrential rains and vast floods. At least five people have died and nearly 41,000 were evacuated last week in several states of the country.

In 2020, the Indonesian capital Jakarta and nearby cities saw some of their deadliest floods in years after downpours triggered landslides.

At least 67 people died in that disaster.

Agence France-Presse

McDonald's BTS-meal frenzy sparks virus closures in Indonesia

JAKARTA - More than a dozen Indonesian McDonald's outlets were temporarily shuttered Wednesday over virus fears as the chain's new BTS meal deal sparked frenzied buying from fans in the K-pop mad country. 

Jakarta and several other cities slapped closure stickers on at least 13 outlets that were deluged with online food-delivery drivers picking up a meal set named after the hugely popular Korean boy band. 

"We temporarily closed four of six McDonald's stores here in Semarang for a couple of days," said Fajar Purwoto, the city's public order agency head.

"I don't want Semarang to be in the COVID-19 red zone again."

Indonesia is one of the hardest-hit nations in Asia.

Jakarta authorities did not respond to requests for comment. But local media said five stores in the capital were shut over BTS meal orders.

The meal set of chicken nuggets, fries and a drink, first made available in Indonesia Wednesday, has been on offer in dozens of countries since May.

BTS have become global superstars with millions of fans around the world since their debut in 2013.

Agence France-Presse

Indonesia finds new COVID-19 cluster after treatment of infected Filipino ship crew

JAKARTA - Indonesia reported a new cluster of 42 coronavirus infections among medical workers who treated 13 Filipino ship crew who were sick with COVID-19, and is tracing dozens of others, a government official said on Sunday.

About 140 other medical workers came into close contact with the crew of the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship Hilma Bulker, who tested positive for the new coronavirus after docking in Central Java on April 25, the province's governor, Ganjar Pranowo, told Reuters. The vessel had come from India.

Genome sequencing showed the crew had the highly infectious B.1617.2 variant first identified in India, Ganjar said, adding that one of them had later died in hospital.

"For now we're actively tracing their nurses. Hundreds had had direct contact, close contact, and 42 had tested positive," Ganjar said by phone.

With more than 1.7 million confirmed cases and 49,000 deaths, Indonesia is the worst-hit country in Southeast Asia.

Its COVID-19 crisis is not as bad as that seen in India, but some health experts are concerned mass gatherings at this month's Eid al-Fitr celebrations and virus variants could trigger a surge of new cases in the world's fourth-most populous nation.

Last month Indonesia stopped issuing visas for foreigners who had recently been in India.

Ganjar said all other crew members of the Hilma Bulker had self-quarantined on the ship, and 49 Indonesian officials who oversaw the unloading of the ship had all tested negative for the virus.

The vessel had delivered refined sugar from India, Ganjar said. It left Indonesia this month headed to Manila, according to Refinitiv Eikon's vessel tracker. 

-reuters-

Indonesia's Gojek, Tokopedia announce merger in country's biggest deal

SINGAPORE - Indonesian ride-hailing and payments firm Gojek and e-commerce leader Tokopedia announced a merger on Monday in a transaction that would create a technology powerhouse in the country's largest deal.

Sources familiar with the situation had earlier said the companies were seeking a $18 billion merger. Neither firm confirmed a valuation for the merged group.

Alibaba Group Holding and SoftBank Group Corp are among Tokopedia's investors, while Gojek's include Warburg Pincus and Tencent Holdings. 

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga: Editing by Neil Fullick and Kenneth Maxwell)

-reuters-

At least 9 wounded as suspected suicide bomber targets Indonesian church

JAKARTA  - A suspected suicide bomber blew themselves up outside a Catholic church in the Indonesian city of Makassar on Sunday, wounding nine people on the first day of the Easter Holy Week, police and a witness said.

The congregation had been inside the church on the island of Sulawesi at the time of the explosion and the lone attacker was the only fatality, police said.

Father Wilhemus Tulak, a priest at the church, told Indonesian media that the suspected bomber tried to enter the church grounds on a motorbike, but had been stopped by a security guard.

Security camera footage showed a blast that blew flame, smoke and debris into the middle of the road.

Police did not say who might be responsible for the apparent attack and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Police blamed the Islamic State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) group for suicide attacks in 2018 on churches and a police post in the city of Surabaya that killed over 30 people.

Boy Rafli Amar, the head of the country's National Counterterrorism Agency, described Sunday's attack as an act of terrorism.

Makassar Mayor Danny Pomanto said the blast could have caused far more casualties if it had taken place at the church's main gate instead of a side entrance.

Makassar, Sulawesi's biggest city, reflects the religious makeup of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country with a substantial Christian minority and followers of other religions.

"Whatever the motive is, this act isn't justified by any religion because it harms not just one person but others, too," Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Indonesia's religious affairs minister, said in a statement.

Gomar Gultom, head of the Indonesian Council of Churches, described the attack as a "cruel incident" as Christians were celebrating Palm Sunday, and urged people to remain calm and trust the authorities.

Indonesia's deadliest Islamist militant attack took place on the tourist island of Bali in 2002, when bombers killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.

In subsequent years, security forces in Indonesia scored some major successes in tackling militancy, but more recently there has been a resurgence of militant violence. 

Agence France-Presse

Indonesia orders 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for private inoculations

JAKARTA - Indonesia expects to receive 20.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Moderna Inc and China's Sinopharm from the second quarter to use in a private vaccination scheme, the head of a state pharmaceutical firm said on Monday.

Indonesia authorized one of the world's first private vaccination programs last month to run alongside its national drive, enabling firms to buy state-procured vaccines for their staff in Southeast Asia's biggest country.

While the plan is expected to speed up the pace of inoculation in the world's fourth most populous country, some health experts have warned it could worsen inequity.

Honesti Basyir, CEO of Bio Farma, told a parliamentary hearing on Monday that it had ordered 15 million doses from China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and 5.2 million from Moderna.

The Sinopharm vaccine could arrive by the end of the second quarter, and the Moderna shot in the third quarter, he said.

Indonesia aims to inoculate 181.5 million people within a year in an effort to reach herd immunity in a vaccination drive that began in January.

The country has suffered one of Asia's worst coronavirus epidemics, with more than 1.4 million cases and over 38,000 deaths so far.

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry had pushed the government to authorize the private inoculation drive.

More than 11,500 companies have signed up for the plan, which would see some 7.4 million people vaccinated, Rosan P. Roeslani, head of the business group, told the same hearing on Monday.

The program would allow employees of participating companies, plus their family members, to receive free vaccinations at privately-run health centers with shots distributed by Bio Farma.

Indonesia's food and drug agency is currently reviewing the Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use approval, its chief Penny K. Lukito told the hearing.

The agency has made no mention of the approval status of the Moderna vaccine.

-reuters-

Jakarta governor contracts COVID-19 as Indonesia infections spike

JAKARTA - Anies Baswedan, the governor of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, said on Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19, as the world's fourth most populous country struggles to contain a spike in the number of infections. 

The 51-year-old governor of Southeast Asia's biggest city is among a number of politicians and officials to contract the virus. Indonesia's transportation and religious affairs ministers have previously been treated for the virus.

In a video posted on his Instagram account, the governor said he was currently asymptomatic and would self-isolate.

"I would like to remind everyone that COVID is still around and can come to anyone," he said.

His deputy, Ahmad Riza Patria, also tested positive to the virus on Sunday, according to the city's website. 

Indonesia, a country of 270 million people, has posted 3 days of record-high case numbers in the past week. With more than 530,000 infections and nearly 17,000 deaths, the country has the highest tallies in Southeast Asia, though some health experts say limited testing and contact tracing is masking a far higher caseload.

Jakarta, a bustling megacity, has also recorded new record highs in infections over the past month, with an average of around 1,240 cases per day in the past week. 

Unlike some neighboring countries, Indonesia has not brought in strict national lockdowns but opted for local curbs.

Since October, Jakarta's governor has relaxed curbs to reinstate "large-scale social restrictions," which means malls and restaurants can operate though with shorter hours.

Some health experts and officials have linked the recent spike in cases to mass gatherings in an around the capital.

This has included thousands joining street protests against a new job creation law and large gatherings, often with little social distancing, to mark the return from exile of controversial Islamic cleric Rizieq Shihab.

-reuters-

Indonesia's Mt. Sinabung blasts tower of smoke and ash into sky

MEDAN -- Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupted Monday, belching a massive column of ash and smoke 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the air and coating local communities in debris.

The volcano on Sumatra island has been rumbling since 2010 and saw a deadly eruption in 2016.

Activity had picked up in recent days, including a pair of smaller eruptions at the weekend.

There were no reports of injuries or deaths, but authorities warned of possible lava flows.

"People living nearby are advised to be on alert for the potential appearance of lava," Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre said in a statement.

The crater's alert status remained at the second-highest level.

No one lives inside a previously announced no-go zone around the volcano, but small communities nearby were coated in a layer of thick ash from Monday's eruption.

Sinabung roared back to life in 2010 for the first time in 400 years. After another period of inactivity it erupted once more in 2013, and has remained highly active since.

In 2016, seven people died in one of Sinabung's eruptions, while a 2014 eruption killed 16.

In late 2018, a volcano in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands erupted, causing an underwater landslide that unleashed a tsunami which killed more than 400 people.

Indonesia is home to about 130 active volcanoes due to its position on the "Ring of Fire", a belt of tectonic plate boundaries circling the Pacific Ocean where frequent seismic activity occurs.

Agence France-Presse

Jokowi says Indonesia virus outbreak expected to peak in Aug-Sept

Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said Monday that the new coronavirus outbreak in his country is expected to peak in August or September, three or four months later than earlier estimated.

"Taking a look at data, the peak is estimated in August or September, that's the latest estimate," Jokowi was quoted as saying in local media reports.

"But if we don't do something, the numbers can be different (and) therefore, I asked my ministers to work hard," he added.

The president had earlier predicted that the virus outbreak would peak by the end of May and flatten by this month. Based on that projection, the government relaxed its large-scale social restrictions.

A few weeks after the restrictions were eased, however, the numbers of confirmed coronavirus infections in the country have continued to rise without any sign of leveling off.

Last Thursday, the daily tally of new confirmed cases hit a record at 2,657.

On Monday, Indonesia reported 1,282 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total up to 76,981 infections with 3,656 fatalities.

-Kyodo News-

Indonesia's central bank cuts rates as economy tanks

JAKARTA - Indonesia's central bank on Thursday cut interest rates for the third time this year and scaled back its growth projections as the global pandemic batters Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Policymakers at Bank Indonesia reduced the key lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 percent, while lowering their full-year economic growth forecast to between 0.9-1.9 percent, from a previous 2.3 percent.

The move comes days after the government warned of a 3.1 percent contraction in the second quarter -- the latest in a series of downward revisions.

Central bank governor Perry Warjiyo signaled there was "still room" to cut rates further in the coming months, but added that he expected growth to rebound next year.

"This (rate) decision is consistent with efforts to maintain stability and boost the economy during the COVID-19 era," he said Thursday.

Indonesia has announced a stimulus package worth some $48 billion to help offset the impact of coronavirus, which forced a wide-scale shutdown that hammered growth, including in the key tourism sector. 

"We expect further gradual easing over the coming months," research house Capital Economics said, citing a "very poor outlook" for the economy.

"Virus containment measures are having a huge impact on the economy," it added.

This month, the Southeast Asian archipelago, home to nearly 270 million people, said it was rolling out a "new normal" policy that included gradually easing movement restrictions in a bid to head off economic collapse.

But Indonesia's infections are mounting with cases topping 40,000 on Wednesday, surging beyond neighboring Singapore to mark the region's highest.

The country has also recorded 2,276 deaths. But with one of the world's lowest testing rates, the true scale of the public health crisis is widely believed to be much bigger.

Agence France-Presse

Soldiers, police enforce Indonesia's "new normal" coronavirus restrictions

JAKARTA - Indonesia's military ordered the deployment of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police on Monday to enforce rules on wearing masks and safe distancing after reports of people in the world's fourth-most populous nation flouting them.

Even as cases of the coronavirus have continued to spike in the Southeast Asian nation, now reaching nearly 23,000 infections and 1,391 deaths, people have often been seen ignoring measures to stop the spread of the pandemic.

From Monday, about 340,000 officers will be deployed across four provinces to ensure the country’s transition to the "new normal", Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said Monday.

The presidential task force on fighting COVID-19 has said the country needs to move to a "new normal" of wearing masks, social distancing and good hand hygiene to combat the disease.

"We will monitor people to ensure people are wearing masks, and are also maintaining a safe distance from others," said Hadi. "What we want is that people can do their activities, and at the same time stay safe from COVID-19."

Malls with a capacity of 1,000 people, he said, would only be permitted to allow 500 people inside.

Officers will be deployed on streets and at malls and other strategic locations in the provinces of Jakarta, West Java, Gorontalo and West Sumatra, in a joint operation between the Indonesian military, police and local government, Hadi said.

The announcement comes days after people flocked to local markets in the capital and its surrounds, many unmasked, buying new clothes for Eid, the celebration at the end of the Islamic fasting month.

Earlier this month, a crowd at a Jakarta airport also caused a stir on social media, with people criticizing their fellow citizens for endangering the lives of frontline healthcare workers by not taking basic precautions.

Indonesia has come under fire from public health experts since March for its belated response to the novel coronavirus, while in recent weeks a string of regulatory backflips around social restrictions, work and travel has resulted in widespread confusion. 

(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

-reuters-

Indonesia's gravediggers battle virus fears, stigma

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Gravedigger Junaidi Hakim shouts "hurry up" as he summons his weary colleagues in a never-ending race to bury novel coronavirus victims at a Jakarta cemetery.

The team switches quickly from digging fresh graves to burying the bodies -- aiming to get the task done in under 10 minutes to lessen the chance of getting infected themselves.

"The most worrying part is when we're unloading a coffin because we have to touch it," said 42-year-old Hakim, a father of four.

"We feel a bit relieved after it's buried."

Some 50 gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery -- one of two earmarked for COVID-19 victims in the Indonesian capital -- are working up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for monthly wages of 4.2 million rupiah ($290).

They dig at least 20 fresh graves daily, marked with white wooden poles that list the name, birthdate and day the occupant died.

But they can hardly keep up with the influx of confirmed and suspected virus victims.

"The ambulances never stop bringing us bodies," said Hakim.

'HEART BREAKS'

The team struggles to keep up in the searing tropical heat, with sobbing relatives never far away.

Families are urged not to linger, robbing them of the chance to perform prayers for loved ones.

"My heart breaks seeing those crying families," said Minar, 54, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"I've been digging graves for 33 years now and I've never been this tired before. This is probably a test from God," he added.

The challenges are compounded in the fasting month of Ramadan when many in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim majority nation, don't eat or drink during daylight hours.

Naman Suherman said he is able to overcome gnawing thirst and hunger in the belief he's doing something "noble" for victims whose covered burial pits are sprinkled with pink flowers.

"What strengthens my faith on this job is knowing that I can help take the deceased to their final resting place," the 55-year-old gravedigger said.

How many people the virus has claimed across the Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 260 million is unclear.

An official death toll of 1,191 as of Monday is widely believed to be well below reality, and Indonesia has one of the world's lowest testing rates.

Government officials acknowledge data are patchy and incomplete.

At least 2,107 people have been buried under COVID-19 safety protocols in epicenter Jakarta alone -- nearly double the reported national toll.

Other cities have also seen unusually high burial figures in recent months, suggesting even more victims.

Volunteer database KawalCovid-19, which was created by health and technology professionals, has estimated there have been more than 3,000 virus deaths in just 16 of the country's 34 provinces.

'AFRAID OF ME'

That would be no surprise for the gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery who have seen their workload soar.

But most didn't know the risks, at first burying virus victims without protective equipment.

"Initially, none of us knew about coronavirus," said Minar.

"We didn't know what this disease was like until I learned from the television news that it was infectious.

"The next day I rushed to buy my own facemask. Several days later, we started getting personal protective equipment."

Despite those precautions, gravedigger Hakim says neighbors suddenly started keeping a wide berth since the first cases appeared in March.

"Although they don't say it out loud, I can feel they're keeping a distance," he said.

"Like they're afraid of me."

Agence Franc-Presse

Burial numbers in Indonesia indicate coronavirus toll is higher than official tally

JAKARTA - Burials in Jakarta remained close to record highs in April, official data showed on Friday, indicating there may have been many more deaths from COVID-19 in the city than have been officially recorded.

The 4,377 burials, combined with 4,422 burials in March, indicate that 2,500 more people have died in the city in the past two months than the average for the period.

The burials data, from the website of the city's parks and cemeteries department, does not identify the cause of death.

Jakarta is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the world's fourth most populous country. According to the central government, there had been 375 COVID-19 deaths in the capital as of Saturday.

Overall, Indonesia has had 800 deaths from the disease, Health Ministry official Achmad Yurianto said on Friday.

Asked about the Jakarta burial figures, Yurianto told Reuters that official figures for coronavirus deaths included only those who died after testing positive for the disease.

Some people who died with COVID-19 symptoms were not tested at all, while others had their samples collected "incorrectly", Yurianto said. He did not elaborate on what the incorrect samples meant.

The March burial figure for Jakarta was the highest since such data began being collected a decade ago, nearly one third higher than any month in that period. City Governor Anies Baswedan told Reuters at the time: "I'm struggling to find another reason than unreported COVID-19 deaths."

Baswedan could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday.

The April burials figure fell only slightly although many people left the city for their home villages in the first three weeks of the month.

A spokesman for the Jakarta provincial government declined to answer questions about the burials data and the number of people who had left the city.

"We don't have daily data to get a precise trend. However, deducting for out-migration, it's not slowing down yet," said one Jakarta-based epidemiologist, who asked not to be identified.

Authorities introduced a soft lockdown on Jakarta in March, closing schools and some businesses. On April 24 travel out of the city was strictly banned in an effort to stop more people leaving for the annual post-Ramadan exodus from Greater Jakarta.

Indonesia has had 10,551 confirmed cases of the illness, the Health Ministry's Yurianto said on Friday.

A Reuters review of data from 16 of Indonesia's 34 provinces showed this week that more than 2,200 people have died with acute symptoms of COVID-19 but were not recorded as victims of the disease.

-reuters-

More than 2,200 Indonesians have died with coronavirus symptoms, data shows

More than 2,200 Indonesians have died with acute symptoms of COVID-19 but were not recorded as victims of the disease, a Reuters review of data from 16 of the country's 34 provinces showed.

Three medical experts said the figures indicated the national death toll was likely to be much higher than the official figure of 765.

Indonesia has one of the lowest testing rates in the world and some epidemiologists say that has made it harder to get an accurate picture of the extent of infections in the world's fourth most populous country.

The most current data from the 16 provinces shows there were 2,212 deaths of patients under supervision because they have acute coronavirus symptoms. Indonesia's health ministry uses the acronym PDP to classify these patients when there is no other clinical explanation for their symptoms.

The data is collated by provincial agencies daily or weekly from figures supplied by hospitals, clinics and officials overseeing burials. It was obtained by Reuters by checking websites, talking to provincial officials and reviewing World Health Organization (WHO) reports.

The 2,212 deaths were in addition to the deaths of 693 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 in those provinces and were officially recorded as victims of the disease.

The 16 provinces account for more than three quarters of the country's 260 million population.

A senior member of the government's COVID-19 taskforce, Wiku Adisasmito, did not dispute the Reuters findings but declined to comment on the number of coronavirus victims he believed were to be found among the patients classified as PDP.

He said many of the 19,897 suspected coronavirus sufferers in Indonesia had not been tested because of long queues of specimens awaiting processing at under-staffed laboratories. Some people had died before their sample was analyzed, he said.

"If they have thousands or hundreds of samples they need to test, which one will they give the priority? They will give the priority to the people that are still alive," he told Reuters.

Adisasmito is the most senior public health expert on Indonesia's COVID-19 taskforce and the press office of President Joko Widodo typically refers queries to the taskforce.

According to the Ministry of Health's most recent COVID-19 guidelines, patients classified as PDP are those with acute respiratory illnesses for which there is no clinical explanation other than the new coronavirus.

To be classified as PDP, patients must also have travelled to a country, or an area in Indonesia, where the coronavirus has taken hold within 14 days of becoming sick.

"I believe the vast majority of PDP deaths were caused by COVID-19," said Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, citing their COVID-19 symptoms and that there was no other identified cause of death.

Some senior government members played down the risk of an outbreak in January and February with some suggesting that prayer, herbal remedies and hot weather would help ward off the virus. The death toll is now the highest in Asia after China, according to a Reuters tally.

BURIALS

The provincial data follows a report by Reuters this month that burials in the capital Jakarta in March were up by 40 percent on any month since at least January 2018. The city's governor told Reuters that coronavirus was the only likely explanation.

Indonesia had officially recorded 9,096 coronavirus infections as of April 27. It has conducted 210 tests per million people. Neighboring Australia has tested 100 times more per capita, while Vietnam's testing is about 10 times higher.

"The true infection and death rate are higher than the officially reported data because our tests are still a very low number compared to the population," said Dr Iwan Ariawan, an epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia.

President Joko Widodo's government has been accused by activists and his political opponents of a lack of transparency in handling the epidemic.

The government says it has taken appropriate measures, but Widodo said last month that some information had been withheld from the public to prevent panic.

Widodo said last week he had told his ministers to report COVID-19 data truthfully. His government announced a new transparency initiative two weeks ago but a promised new website with all the data has yet to be launched.

Daeng Faqih, chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association, the country's pre-eminent grouping of doctors, has urged the government to reveal the national number of suspected COVID-19 patients who had died but were not tested.

The WHO representative office in Indonesia also said over the weekend that deaths of suspected coronavirus sufferers should be disclosed.

Adisasmito said the government was not hiding data and that he was unaware the WHO had called for suspected COVID-19 death statistics to be made public.

On Tuesday, the WHO declined to offer any comment beyond its weekend advice, made in its latest situation report on Indonesia.

-reuters-

Indonesia bans traditional Ramadan exodus to rein in coronavirus

JAKARTA - Indonesia will ban its traditional annual exodus by people streaming out of cities at the end of the Muslim fasting month in May, as the Southeast Asian nation looks to curb the spread of coronavirus, President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday.

Indonesia's tally of 590 virus deaths is the highest in East Asia after China, but Widodo had previously resisted a ban, seeking instead to persuade people to stay put.

But health experts had warned that allowing millions in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country to travel to their home villages after Ramadan could hasten the spread of the disease.

"I have taken the decision that we will ban 'mudik,'" Widodo told a cabinet meeting, using the Indonesian term for the journey. "That is why the relevant preparation needs to be done."

He cited a survey by the transport ministry that showed 24% of the archipelago's population of more than 260 million were insisting on joining the exodus after Ramadan.

Last year, about 19.5 million people in the archipelago made the journey, the government says, and Widodo added that 7% of Indonesians had already set out this year.

The world's fourth most populous country has recorded 6,760 virus infections for southeast Asia's second highest tally after the neighboring city state of Singapore, though some estimates put the figure far higher.

In a study last week, researchers at the University of Indonesia's public health faculty warned that if the exodus home were permitted, it could lead to a million infections by July on Java, the most populous island, home to Jakarta, the capital.

Without the exodus, that figure could be cut to 750,000 cases, the researchers said.

-reuters-

A heart for frontliners

The exterior of a hotel in Jakarta shows rooms illuminated to form a heart, a way of thanking and supporting people tackling the spread of COVID-19, especially the country’s medical workers, Friday. The country so far has 5,923 recorded cases of the virus, making it the country with the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia. 

-reuters-

Bali's miracle: Turning wine into hand sanitizer

BALI - Pharmacists on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali are tackling a shortage of anti-coronavirus hand sanitizer by making their own unique, tropical version -- from thousands of liters of fermented palm wine. 

The idea was the brainchild of Bali police chief Petrus Reinhard Golose, who says he was alarmed that supplies of alcohol-based disinfectant were in short supply while prices soared for what was left on the market.

He rustled up some 4,000 liters of the popular, potent beverage -- known as arak -- by asking local manufacturers to donate from their stocks, with the force also dipping into its own funds to buy up extra supplies. 

Staff at Bali's Udayana University were then tasked with turning the wine into a handwash that could protect against the coronavirus. 

Within a week, they had managed to produce a disinfectant with a 96 percent alcohol content to meet WHO standards, according to the university.

Some clove and mint oil were added to the mixture to reduce hand irritation.

"So far we've produced 10,600 bottles of hand sanitizer using arak and Bali police have given them out to people in need," Dewa Ayu Swastini, head of the university's pharmaceutical faculty, told AFP on Wednesday.

Bali has reported 49 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 2 deaths.

Agence France-Presse

11-year-old Indonesian girl dies after contracting COVID-19

JAKARTA - An 11-year-old girl has become Indonesia's youngest person to die after contracting the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday, as the country's death toll from COVID-19 nearly tripled from a week ago. 

The girl, who was also suffering from dengue fever, was admitted to hospital on Madura Island off the coast of Java on March 19.

She had a fever and breathing difficulties, and died the following day.

Tests only confirmed this week that the girl also had COVID-19. 

"Her immune system was quite poor," said Joni Wahyuhadi, an official at East Java's virus task force.

"She was battling two illnesses at once so that's why her condition worsened." 

Indonesia said Wednesday its death toll from COVID-19 had reached 157 -- including 11 frontline doctors -- compared with 58 a week ago. 

Infections have more than doubled over the same period to 1,677. 

But rates of testing are low and experts fear the true figures are far higher in the country of more than 260 million people.

While the virus is most dangerous for the elderly, there have been a number of cases around the world of younger people dying.

Agence France-Presse

Indonesia to ban face mask exports to ensure domestic supply

JAKARTA - Indonesia will temporarily ban the export of face masks to safeguard domestic supply amid the coronavirus outbreak, Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said on Friday.

"We will issue a temporary export ban for mask products to meet demand from domestic industries and consumers," Suparmanto told reporters. The ban will be kept in place until the government is satisfied local supply is adequate, he said.

Prices for face masks have jumped in some parts of Indonesia as buyers stock up on protective supplies such as masks and hand sanitizers due to worries about the coronavirus.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Indonesia confirms first coronavirus cases

JAKARTA — Indonesia on Monday reported its first confirmed cases of coronavirus, after health officials in the world's fourth-most populous country hit back at questions over its apparent lack of infected patients.

A 64-year-old woman and her daughter, 31, tested positive for the virus at a Jakarta hospital, said health minister Terawan Agus Putranto.

"This morning I received the test results and they were positive," he told reporters in the capital.

"Both are in good condition...they don't have serious breathing difficulties."

Officials said that the pair may have been in close contact with a Japanese national who has since tested positive after returning to neighboring Malaysia.

Last month, Indonesia criticized a US study that questioned why the Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 260 million, which has strong links to China, had not recorded a case of the virus.

The World Health Organization said it was particularly concerned about high-risk nations with weaker health systems, who may lack the facilities to identify cases.

The global death toll from the new coronavirus epidemic surpassed 3,000 on Monday after dozens more died at its epicenter in China and cases soared around the world with a second fatality on US soil.

The WHO says the virus appears to particularly hit those over the age of 60 and people already weakened by other illness.

Agence France-Presse