Indonesia Highlights: President Jokowi Congratulates US President-Elect Joe Biden | Jakarta to Extend Transitory Large-Scale Social Distancing to 22 November | Lava Sighted on Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s Most Active Volcano

Jakarta, KOMPAS.com - Indonesian President Joko Widodo joins other world leaders such as British Prime Minister Boris Johson and German chancellor Angela Merkel in congratulating US President-elect Joe Biden, after he beat incumbent President Donald Trump in the US Presidential race.

Closer to home, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan decided to play it safe by extending the transitory Large-Scale Social Restrictions in Jakarta until November 22, as the number of Covid-19 cases continued to decrease.

Authorities in Yogyakarta are bracing for Mount Merapi to erupt, after they detected a lava stream near its peak. Read on to get more details of these news, as prepared by our editors:  

1. President Jokowi Congratulates US President-Elect Joe Biden

Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris, after they beat incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence in the 2020 US presidential election.

“My warmest congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris on your historic election. The huge turn out is a reflection of the hope placed on democracy,” said Jokowi on his Instagram account @jokowi on Sunday, 8 November.

“Look forward to work closely with you in strengthening Indonesia-US strategic partnership and pushing forward our cooperation on economy, democracy and multilateralism for the benefit of our two people [sic] and beyond.”

Jokowi joined other world leaders such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel in congratulating the 77-year old Biden, a veteran politician who served as US President Barack Obama’s Vice President from 2008 to 2016.

Source:

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/11/08/12114221/presiden-jokowi-ucapkan-selamat-kepada-joe-biden-dan-kamala-harris. 

Dokumentasi Pemprov DKI Jakarta Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) and Deputy Governor Achmad Riza Patria, announces his decision to reimpose partial lockdown from September 14 to stem the spread of the Covid-19 in the Indonesian capital.

2. Jakarta to Extend Transitory Large-Scale Social Distancing to 22 November

The Jakarta Provincial Administration has decided to extend Transitory Large-Scale Social Distancing [PSBB] for another two weeks to 22 November. The step comes weeks after the current transitory PSBB started from 24 October to 8 November.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the transitory PSBB will be extended from Monday, 9 November, after officials claimed that they managed to slow down the rate of Covid-19 transmission in the capital over the past two weeks.

“The rate of Covid-19 transmissions in Jakarta fell from 12,481 cases during the PSBB period from 10 October – 24 October to 8,026 between 24 October - 8 November,” he said in a written statement on 8 November.

“This is a 55 percent reduction [in Covid-19 cases], while the percentage of recoveries increased by 90.7 percent to 101,791 out of 112,027 cases in Jakarta as of 7 November.”

But the Gerindra Party politician warned Jakartans against complacency. “Transitory PSBB is still needed because Covid-19 transmission still occurs. The measure is also needed to make the public maintain health protocols such as washing hands, wearing masks, and social distancing.”

Officials in Jakarta said there are an estimated 7,870 active Covid-19 cases in the capital, while 2,366 people died in the pandemic. The authorities also carried out PCR tests on 57,754 people in Jakarta. The tests have a 9.4 percent positive rate.

To date, Indonesia has over 437,716 Covid-19 cases nationwide as of 8 November: The Covid-19 Task Force said 14,614 people died in the pandemic following an additional 74 deaths over 24 hours to 8 November.

54,804 cases are estimated to be still active, while another 368,298 recovered from Covid-19. The pandemic has been traced in 541 districts and cities in all of Indonesia’s 34 provinces.

Source:

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2020/11/08/18012911/psbb-transisi-dki-jakarta-diperpanjang-hingga-22-november. 

ANTARA FOTO/ALOYSIUS JAROT NUGRO A minor lava stream is seen near the peak of Mount Merapi on 6/11/2020

3. Lava Sighted on Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s Most Active Volcano

Yogyakarta is bracing for yet another eruption from Mount Merapi, as observers noted a flow of lava from the peak of the volcano.

The phenomena comes as authorities raised the four-tier alert level for Merapi to level three or siaga [watch] from the second level of waspada [advisory] on 5 November.

“The lava flow was detected at a height of 3 thousand meters heading west. The lava did not occur simultaneously with hot clouds,” said the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center [BPPTKG] official Hanik Humaida on 8 November.

“We noted that the [the lava flow] happened 11 times. This is a normal occurrence, especially when volcanic activity is intensifying.” Aside from lava flow, Hanik also warned about the discharge of volcanic material and hot clouds that occur simultaneously with the lava flow..

“We also warned the public to stop their activities near the volcano,” he added. “These include mining near rivers whose sources are from Mount Merapi. We also called on the public to refrain from entering Mount Merapi National Park or climbing onto its slopes.”

The authorities in the nearby town of Magelang also evacuated 795 people living on Merapi’s slopes. Mount Merapi is known as Indonesia’s most active volcano. The mountain recently erupted twice last March.

Source: 

https://regional.kompas.com/read/2020/11/08/21502631/guguran-lava-kembali-terjadi-di-gunung-merapi-sejauh-3000-meter-ke-barat.