Indonesia Highlights: Indonesia to Receive 15 Million Doses of Covid-19 Bulk Vaccine Tuesday | Indonesia Extends Ban on Foreigners to End of January | Water Park near Jakarta Closed for Flouting Covid

KOMPAS.com – As Indonesia is set to begin its first mass inoculation program on Wednesday, more Covid-19 vaccines will arrive in the country a day before.

A total of 15 million doses of Covid-19 bulk vaccine from China-based biopharmaceuticals Sinovac Biotech Ltd are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Tuesday, January 12.

Prior to this, Indonesia has received three million doses of coronavirus vaccines from the same company.

The biggest Covid-19 jab drive in the country aims to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Besides, the government has also decided to extend its ban on foreigners entering Indonesia amid the increasing number of confirmed cases. The ban will be extended by another two weeks until January 28.

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

1. Indonesia to Receive 15 Million Doses of Covid-19 Bulk Vaccine Tuesday

SHUTTERSTOCK/Orpheus FX An illustration of Covid-19 vaccine.

A total of 15 million doses of Covid-19 bulk vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia tomorrow, the country’s top health official said on Monday, January 11.

“A good news is that 15 million doses of vaccine in bulk from Sinovac, InsyaAllah [God willing], will arrive here tomorrow,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a virtual press conference broadcast via the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel.

The bulk vaccine will be processed about a month by state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma, said Minister Budi.

“By early February we will have 12 million doses of ready-to-use vaccines which will be produced from the 15 million doses of Covid-19 bulk vaccine,” said Budi.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/01/11/170250774/indonesia-to-receive-15-million-doses-of-covid-19-bulk-vaccine-tomorrow

2. Indonesia Extends Ban on Foreigners to End of January

ANTARA FOTO/ADITYA PRADANA PUTRA An area for check-in counters in Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport looks empty.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto announced that “President Joko Widodo has approved the extension of the ban on foreigners entering Indonesia,” he said in a press statement at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Monday, January 11.

Speaking in his capacity as head of the National Economic Recovery and Covid-19 Response Team, Airlangga added that “the present ban, which lasts from January 1-14, will be extended by two weeks to January 28.”

Indonesia initiated the ban at the beginning of 2021 to safeguard the country’s borders, following the discovery of a new variant of the Covid-19 pandemic in Great Britain, which researchers at the country’s University of Birmingham noted has a 70 percent transmission rate.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/01/12/001650174/indonesia-extends-ban-on-foreigners-to-end-of-january.

3. Water Park near Jakarta Closed for Flouting Covid-19 Health Protocols

KOMPAS.COM/DENDI RAMDHANI West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil.

The West Java provincial administration has closed one of the water parks in Cikarang, Bekasi near the capital for violating Covid-19 health protocols.

“We have imposed sanctions [against the management] and we have closed the place. Hopefully, the owner will learn the lessons and strictly follow the rules,” West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said on Monday, January 11.

The governor, popularly known as Emil, said that the water park failed to comply with the Covid-19 health protocols amid the increasing number of coronavirus cases.

Based on the video that went viral on social media, the venue was packed with visitors.

“The place in Cikarang, Bekasi, where the ‘Waterboom’ is located, does not follow the health protocols. They, however, slash the entrance ticket price. As a result, the place is too crowded,” Emil said.

The West Java provincial administration then took firm action to impose a penalty on the recreational place, Waterboom.

“We are not comfortable either with the decision because the temporary closure will impact their income. But, in the time of health emergency this must be implemented as other placesalso strictly follow the rules,” Emil said.

Source: https://regional.kompas.com/read/2021/01/11/14530541/pemprov-jabar-akhirnya-tutup-waterboom-di-cikarang-bekasi.