Indonesia Highlights: 6.2 Richter Scale Earthquake Hits West Sulawesi Province | Investigators Collect DNA on Sriwijaya Air SJ 182 | President Jokowi to Wrap Up Mass Vaccinations in 2021

“The Indonesian National Police Disaster Victims Identification Unit [DVI] have collected 140 DNA samples of the victims from their families,” said police spokesman Brigadier General Rusdi Hartono on Friday, January 15.

The chief of the Police’s DNA Laboratory, Police Chief Dr. Ratna, reiterated Rusdi. “We managed to identify five victims from Flight SJ 182 today,” she noted.

“The number brought the number of those confirmed to have died in the disaster to 17 people. Relatives of four victims have claimed their remains for burial.”

National Search and Rescue Agency [Basarnas] chief, retired Indonesian Air Force Marshal Bagus Puruhito announced that investigators “have recovered 272 bags from the crash site [on Friday, January 15].”

“We are still looking for the black box containing the Cockpit Voice Recorder or CVR.”

Basarnas also decided to “expand the search [for Flight SJ 182] from the Thousand Islands to waters off Tangerang, Banten Province."

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/01/16/032257874/indonesian-investigators-collect-dna-of-those-lost-on-sriwijaya-air-sj-182?page=all#page2. 

President Jokowi Aims to Wrap Up Covid-19 Vaccinations by End of 2021

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has urged Indonesian health workers to speed up the mass vaccination of the Covid-19 vaccine on more than half of the country’s population from the original target of 2022.

“I have ordered [medical authorities] to accelerate the vaccination of more than 181 million Indonesians to be completed by the end of 2021,” he said. 

“The vaccine is a game-changer [against Covid-19], as it can determine whether we can get back to work or our children can go back to school. It also key on whether we can worship in peace or if we can jumpstart the national economy.”

He also assured the public that the vaccines are safe.

President Jokowi aims to vaccinate 181 million Indonesians to gain herd immunity against the coronavirus.

Indonesia has stockpiled 426 million Covid-19 vaccines from Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Novavax to vaccinate to vaccinate this number of people through 2022.

The Food and Drug Agency [BPOM] has issued the Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccines, which exceeded the 50 percent efficacy rate set by the World Health Organization or WHO.

The Indonesian Ulama Council [MUI] also stated that the vaccines meet Islamic halal standards.

Source:

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/01/15/21045491/jokowi-saya-telah-perintahkan-vaksinasi-covid-19-tuntas-sebelum-akhir-2021?page=all#page2.