Indonesia Highlights: Indonesia to Get 4.6 Million AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Doses This Month, President Says | State Intelligence Agency Takes Strategic Measures after New Covid-19 Strain Found in In

KOMPAS.com – As Indonesia is currently conducting its mass inoculation program against the Covid-19, another shipment of coronavirus vaccine is expected to arrive in the country this month.

President Joko “Jokowi" Widodo said that Indonesia will receive 4.6 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses from the UK this month.

This was said by Jokowi on Thursday, March 4, about a year after he announced the first two confirmed cases in the country.

Meanwhile, following the discovery of the new B.1.1.7 coronavirus in Karawang, West Java, the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) has taken some strategic approaches.

Below are the editors’ picks stories published on Kompas.com:

Indonesia to Get 4.6 Million AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Doses This Month, President Says

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that Indonesia will receive 4.6 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses from the UK this month.

“Insya Allah [God willing], 4.6 million ready-to-use AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses will arrive here in March,” said Jokowi in an online briefing on Thursday, March 4.

“It means that we can accelerate the country’s mass inoculation program and we know that currently the vaccination program is carried out by prioritizing high-risk groups,” he said.

The first group who received the Covid-19 jab during the first stage of the program were the health workers followed by the elderly, public service officers, teachers, members of the media, market traders in the second stage.

The head of state added that as of now Indonesia has 38 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, comprising three million doses of ready-to-use vaccine and 35 million doses of Covid-19 bulk vaccine.

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/03/04/20510721/jokowi-46-juta-dosis-vaksin-astrazeneca-tiba-di-indonesia-maret-ini.

State Intelligence Agency Takes Strategic Measures after New Covid-19 Strain Found in Indonesia

DOK. BIN State Intelligence Agency's deputy head of communication and information Wawan Hari Purwanto.

The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) has taken some strategic approaches following the discovery of the new B.1.1.7 coronavirus in Karawang, West Java.

“BIN continues to take some strategic measures based on its core competencies,” BIN's deputy head of communication and information Wawan Hari Purwanto said on Wednesday, March 3.

Wawan said the government has been monitoring the development of the new strain of the coronavirus. Therefore, the government has banned flights and travelers from the UK, where the new SARS-CoV-2 variant was first detected in December last year. The new variant continues to spread around the world, including Indonesia.

It was reported that the Health Ministry has traced the two carriers of the B.1.1.7 Covid-19 strain. The cases made their way to Indonesia via Indonesian nationals returning from Saudi Arabia. Health authorities in the West Java town of Karawang, the hometown of the two cases, confirmed the ministry’s findings.

He said that BIN and various stakeholders continue to improve their coordination to develop research on the more infectious variant of the coronavirus.

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/03/04/09475631/bin-ambil-langkah-strategis-setelah-virus-corona-b-117-masuk-indonesia.

Indonesian Navy Launches Two Warships to Meet Minimum Essential Force

Dispenal KRI Teluk Wondama-527 is part of the Indonesian Navy's primary weaponry defense system.

Indonesian Navy chief of staff Admiral Yudo Margono launched two naval ships at Bandar Abadi Batam Shipyard in Riau Islands on Wednesday, March 3.

The launching of the warships is part of the military efforts to achieve its minimum essential force (MEF) target by 2024 as is mentioned in the third Strategic Plan (Renstra) 2019-2024.

The two warships - the KRI AT-8 and the KRI AT-9 were renamed respectively as the KRI Teluk Weda-526 and KRI Teluk Wondama-527.

KRI Teluk Weda-526 is taken from the name of a famous bay in Central Halmahera, Weda Tengah District, North Maluku. Meanwhile, KRI Teluk Wondama-527 is taken from the name of a bay located in Papua, near Raja Ampat.

“I hope that the two naval ships can improve the performances of our duties. The new ships must be operated by professional manpower so that the operation and maintenance can be carried out optimally,” said Yudo.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/03/04/162831174/indonesian-navy-launches-two-warships-to-meet-minimum-essential-force.