Indonesia Highlights: No Plans to Impose Sanctions against Indonesians Who Refuse Vaccination: Deputy Minister | Indonesia’s Muslim Preacher Sheikh Ali Jaber Passes Away | Tesla Teams’ Jakarta Visit P

KOMPAS.com – Indonesia began its first mass Covid-19 inoculation program on January 13. President Joko Widodo received the first shot of a Chinese-made Sinovax vaccine at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

However, some of the Indonesian citizens have refused to receive the Covid-19 jab drive, arguing that they are not obliged to receive the shot.

Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said on Thursday that the government has yet planned to impose sanctions against people who refuse mass Covid-19 vaccination.

In other news, an Indonesian Muslim preacher of Saudi Arabia origin, Sheikh Ali Jaber, passed away on Thursday, January 14. He is 44. The influential preacher was treated in a Jakarta hospital due to Covid-19.

Below are excerpts from the news in Indonesia, curated by Kompas.com editors:

1. No Plans Yet to Impose Sanctions against Indonesians Who Refuse Covid-19 Vaccination: Deputy Minister

Indonesia’s Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said on Thursday that the government has yet planned to impose sanctions against people who refuse mass Covid-19 vaccination.

Dante said the mass coronavirus jab drive was a collective effort to form herd immunity, not individual immunity.

“In our action to achieve 70 percent common immune of the total population, we will do it persuasively,” said Dante during the Covid-19 jab drive held at state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.

“As of now, there is no sanction or penalty against those who refuse vaccination,” Dante added.

Previously, Deputy Minister for Law and Human Rights Edward Hiariej said that under Law No. 6/2018 on health quarantine, those who refuse vaccination could face up to a year of imprisonment.

Edward said that the Indonesian citizens must take part in the Covid-19 jab drive as one of the efforts to realize public health.

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/01/14/12335551/wamenkes-belum-ada-sanksi-bagi-penolak-vaksinasi-covid-19?page=1.