COVID-19 emergency restrictions in Indonesia extended until Aug 2: President Jokowi - CNA

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Sunday (Jul 25) that the current restrictions put in place to curb COVID-19 will continue until Aug 2, but several adjustments related to community activities and mobility will be made.

Under the PPKM (community-level public activity restrictions enforcement) Level 4, people’s movements are restricted according to the sectors they work in, and only employees in critical sectors such as energy and health are allowed to go back to the workplace.

However, in a televised address President Widodo said there will be certain adjustments, taking into account health and economic aspects as well as social dynamics.

“Traditional markets that sell daily basic necessities may be open as usual under strict health protocols.

“Traditional markets that sell other than daily basic necessities, may be open with a maximum capacity of 50 per cent until 3pm and further arrangements will be made by the local government,” said Mr Widodo.

READ: Uneven distribution, bureaucracy hamper Indonesia's COVID-19 national vaccination efforts

He added that street vendors, grocery stores, mobile phone voucher agents or outlets, barbershops, laundromats, hawkers, small automotive repair shops, car wash, and similar small businesses are allowed to open under strict health protocols until 9pm. Further arrangements will also be made by the local governments.

Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, also said that food stalls, street vendors, hawkers, and other similar outlets that are operating outdoors or in an open space can stay open for business until 8pm, with each patron allowed to visit for a maximum of 20 minutes.

He stated that the government has increased social assistance for the community and small businesses, and the details will be announced by relevant ministers.

READ: Commentary: Overwhelmed Indonesian hospitals with COVID-19 cases behind high doctor fatalities

PPKM Emergency, which was subsequently renamed to PPKM Level 4, has been imposed from Jul 3 to Jul 25 in Java and Bali as Indonesia is battling a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The restrictions were later extended to 15 other regions outside of Java and Bali.

The Indonesian government has classified regions in the country into four levels - with level 1 being the safest and level 4 showing the highest levels of transmission.

This is in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines that 50 confirmed cases daily per 100,000 people would be classified as level 4, said the government.

Speaking at a virtual press conference also on Sunday, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan said that from Jul 26, there will be 95 cities and regencies in Java and Bali which will be classified level 4. But he did not reveal which cities and regencies are at this level.

READ: As spike in COVID-19 cases taxes healthcare system, some Indonesians have little choice but to isolate at home

Meanwhile, there will be another 33 cities and regencies in Java and Bali which are at level 3, said Mr Pandjaitan who was appointed by the Mr Widodo to oversee the restrictions there.

Export-oriented industries which are in regions at level 3 are allowed to open in shifts and each can operate with a maximum of 50 per cent capacity under strict health protocols. 

“So if there are two shifts, it can operate 100 per cent in the production facility,” said Mr Pandjaitan.

Malls in cities and regencies at level 3 can also operate with a maximum capacity of 25 per cent until 5pm.

Furthermore, places of worship in cities and regencies at level 3 can also open with a maximum capacity of 25 per cent or a maximum of 20 people.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto who also heads the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN) Committee said at the same press conference that the government has now identified 45 cities and regencies at level 4 outside of Java and Bali.

He added that starting Monday, 276 regions will be at level 3 in 21 provinces outside of Java and Bali.

COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy are currently among the highest in the world.

Indonesia has recorded more than 3 million infections and 83,000 deaths.

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2021-07-25 14:48:45Z
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Malaysia sees record 17045 new Covid-19 cases, as Delta variant spreads - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia recorded 17,045 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday (July 25), setting a new record for the third consecutive day as the country surpassed one million cumulative cases since the pandemic started. 

After recording more than 15,000 cases in each of the previous two days, Malaysia now has 1.013 million Covid-19 cases. 

The Klang Valley region - consisting of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur and its most populous state Selangor - continued to contribute the bulk of infections, collectively recording more than 10,500 cases. 

The northern state of Kedah set its own record high after it logged 1,216 cases. Penang too set a new record high of 573 cases. 

Malaysia’s Covid-19 numbers have continued to soar, despite it entering a third month of movement restrictions that started in May. 

Infections fuelled by more transmissible variants of concern, chiefly the Delta variant first identified in India, have defied a more stringent lockdown introduced on June 1. 

Earlier on Friday, the eastern state of Kelantan detected its first case of the Delta variant, involving a woman in Pasir Puteh, reported The Star.

The state’s Housing and Health Committee chairman Izani Husin said the woman had been infected with Covid-19 before.

“I expect that this Delta variant infection is already present in the community and this is very worrying,” he said at a press conference on Sunday.

New infections continued to outpace daily recoveries, which stood at 9,683 on Sunday. Meanwhile the total number of active cases rose to more than 160,000, continuing to strain the country’s stretched healthcare system. 

Nearly 1,000 people are in intensive care units, with more than half of them requiring ventilator support. 

However, the country saw its daily death toll dip to 92 on Sunday, after consistently recording more than 100 deaths a day for much of last week. Nearly 8,000 people have died so far from the pandemic. 

On Sunday, a group of opposition lawmakers and activists led by lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan lodged a police report alleging the government had been negligent in managing the Covid-19 crisis. 

The group called for the government to be more accountable, saying Health Minister Adham Baba and other relevant ministries involved in the country’s pandemic response needed to take the issue seriously. 

Meanwhile, the country’s vaccination rate has picked up pace, with nearly half of its eligible adult population having received at least one dose of vaccine as at Saturday. 

About 23 per cent of the adult population has been fully inoculated. 

The country administered 417,738 doses of vaccine on Saturday, and has consistently inoculated 400,000 people a day for the past few days. 

Malaysia is expected to fully inoculate all eligible adults in the Klang Valley by the end of next month. It hopes to vaccinate the rest of the country by the end of October, as more vaccines arrive in the coming months. 

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said that the authorities are expected to ease Covid-19 restrictions for fully vaccinated people soon. 

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2021-07-25 11:42:41Z
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China promises US a ‘tutorial’ in treating countries equally - South China Morning Post

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1. China promises US a ‘tutorial’ in treating countries equally  South China Morning Post
2. US to stress need for 'guardrails' in Sherman's talks in China  CNA
3. US, China head into first talks in months still trading blows  The Straits Times
4. In upcoming talks, US diplomat to stress need for ‘guardrails’ with China  South China Morning Post
5. Timeline: Major events in US-China relations since 1949  Al Jazeera English
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-07-25 06:32:13Z
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Singapore reports 37th COVID-19 fatality; woman was unvaccinated and linked to 121 Bukit Merah View cluster - CNA

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported its 37th COVID-19 fatality on Sunday (Jul 25), an 83-year-old woman who was unvaccinated.

Identified as Case 64342, the Singaporean woman lived in Bukit Merah and was linked to the 121 Bukit Merah View cluster, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The woman developed a fever and cough on Jun 16 but did not seek medical attention until she was taken to National University Hospital on Jun 18, where she tested positive for COVID-19 the next day.

MOH said she had a history of hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.

The woman was linked to the 121 Bukit Merah View cluster on Jun 21, along with two other female retirees aged 86 and 80. The cluster was closed on Jul 19.

READ: 127 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in Singapore; new cluster linked to Samy's Curry at Dempsey

The cluster, along with other smaller COVID-19 clusters in the neighbourhood, emerged after COVID-19 cases were linked to the market and food centre at 115 Bukit Merah View.

On Jun 24, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, the ministry’s director of medical services, said that more than half of the COVID-19 cases linked to the market and food centre were not vaccinated. 

About a third were fully vaccinated, and the majority of these cases were either mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic, he said.

The virus could have spread through the cluster by the use of common facilities - including toilets - at the market and food centre, Assoc Prof Mak said.

"There are many who work in the vicinity, who will visit both the market and the food centre for their meals. And some of the cases that we have interviewed have reported queuing up for at least 30 minutes, which would ordinarily be considered a significant period of close contact if these visitors were close together," he added.

The cluster also contains "next generation of transmission" cases involving those who did not visit the market or food centre but had close contact with other cases who visited the places or worked there.

READ: About half of COVID-19 cases in Bukit Merah View market cluster not vaccinated

READ: Bukit Merah View COVID-19 cluster: Virus could have spread via long queues, surfaces in toilets, says MOH

Singapore reported 127 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections on Saturday, including 75 cases linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster and five to the cluster in KTV lounges.

In a video posted on social media on Saturday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged senior citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19, assuring them that the vaccines are safe.

“Don’t wait till it’s too late,” Mr Lee said.

“Most people your age are already vaccinated, including many of your friends and neighbours. Protect yourself, and your family too.” 

As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 64,057 COVID-19 cases and 37 fatalities from the disease.

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2021-07-24 22:44:30Z
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Australians may face longer COVID-19 lockdown after mass protests - CNA

MELBOURNE: Australia's New South Wales logged its second-highest daily increase in locally acquired COVID-19 cases of the year on Sunday (Jul 25) amid fears of a wave of new infections after thousands of people joined an anti-lockdown protest.

"In relation to yesterday's protests, can I say how absolutely disgusted I was. It broke my heart," Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of the country's most populous state, told reporters.

"I hope it won't be a setback, but it could be," she said.

Several people were arrested at an anti-lockdown rally in Sydney which also saw violent clashes with police AFP/Steven SAPHORE

There were 141 COVID-19 cases reported, down from 163 a day earlier. The outbreak, which began in June, is being driven by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus, and has now infected 2,081 people in New South Wales. There are 43 people in intensive care, up from 37 a day earlier.

At least 38 of the new cases had spent time in the community while infectious, state health authorities said. Numbers of such cases have stayed stubbornly high even after four weeks of lockdown in Sydney, now expected to be extended beyond July 30.

The state reported two deaths overnight, including a woman in her 30s with no pre-existing conditions.

READ: Sydney to get extra vaccines as COVID-19 cases mount

Despite its struggle with spikes of infections, Australia has managed to keep its epidemic largely under control with a total of about 32,600 cases and 918 deaths.

To help speed up vaccinations in Sydney, the government's official adviser, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), on Saturday changed its advice on the AstraZeneca vaccine, urging anyone in the city under the age of 60 to strongly consider getting vaccinated with it.

ATAGI had previously advised against use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 60 due to concerns about blood clots.

"In the context of the current risk of COVID-19 in NSW and with the ongoing constraints on Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine supplies, all adults in greater Sydney should strongly consider the benefits of earlier protection with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca rather than waiting for alternative vaccines," ATAGI said in a statement.

Protesters and mounted police clash at Sydney Town Hall during a 'World Wide Rally For Freedom' anti-lockdown rally in Sydney, Saturday, July 24, 2021. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, under fire for a slow rollout of vaccines, said on Sunday the government has secured an additional 85 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, but they will only be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

"Every Australian will have access to a booster shot if it is needed," Morrison said in a statement.

READ: COVID-19: New Zealand suspends quarantine-free travel with Australia

READ: Australia approves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 to 15

Australia's Victoria state reported 11 locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday, down from 12 a day earlier, raising hopes the state will end a hard lockdown imposed 10 days ago.

State Premier Daniel Andrews said it was too early to say whether restrictions will be eased on Tuesday, but said: "At this stage, though, things are going well."

All of the cases were linked to the current outbreak clusters and all of them were in isolation throughout their infectious period, the state's health department said.

South Australia reported three new cases on Sunday.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments

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Elderly Singaporean woman dies from COVID-19 complications; 127 new locally transmitted cases - CNA

Singapore

Singapore also reported its 37th COVID-19 fatality, an 83-year-old woman who was unvaccinated.

Samy’s Curry Restaurant at Dempsey Road was identified as a COVID-19 cluster, with eight linked cases as of Jul 24. (Photo: Google Maps)

24 Jul 2021 06:39PM (Updated: 25 Jul 2021 07:55AM)

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SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 127 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections on Saturday (Jul 24) and its 37th COVID-19 fatality, an 83-year-old woman who was not vaccinated.

It also reported two new clusters, including one linked to Samy’s Curry Restaurant at Dempsey. 

Among the new local cases, 75 were linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster and five to the cluster in KTV lounges.

There are now 741 cases linked to the Jurong Fishery Port/Hong Lim Market & Food Centre cluster, which is the largest active cluster in Singapore.

Sixty-nine of the new local cases were linked to previous infections and had already been placed in quarantine. Twenty-nine were detected through surveillance testing.

The remaining 29 infections had no links to previous cases.

Six of the new cases are people above the age of 70 who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and are at risk of serious illness, MOH added.

READ: Singapore reports 37th COVID-19 fatality; woman was unvaccinated and linked to 121 Bukit Merah View cluster

There were also three imported cases.

One of the infections was detected upon arrival in Singapore, while two developed the illness during their stay-home notice or isolation.

In total, Singapore reported 130 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday.

SAMY'S CURRY AT DEMPSEY A NEW CLUSTER

Eight COVID-19 cases have been linked to Samy’s Curry at Dempsey. The restaurant has been shut for two weeks until Aug 8 for cleaning.

"Our epidemiological investigations have found that there is likely ongoing transmission at the restaurant," said MOH.

All staff at the restaurant have been placed on quarantine. Free COVID-19 tests will also be offered to people who had visited the restaurant between Jul 19 and 23.

MOH said all visitors to the Dempsey area should monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions as much as possible, for 14 days from their date of visit. They are encouraged to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.

The second new COVID-19 cluster is identified as the Case 65791 cluster, with four cases. No further details were given about the infections.

There are currently 26 active COVID-19 clusters in Singapore, ranging between three and 741  infections.

Two clusters have been closed as there have been no cases linked to them for the past two incubation periods, said the ministry. 

The closed clusters are linked to Case 64184 - a 27-year-old Indian national who works as an engineer at Ecoxplore - and Case 64264, a 32-year-old Indonesian domestic worker.

NINE SENIORS VERY ILL: MOH

MOH said the overall number of new cases in the community has increased from 238 in the week before to 1,027 cases in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 17 cases in the week before to 120 cases in the past week.

A total of 490 cases are in hospital, with most well and under observation.

There are 12 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and one in critical condition in the intensive care unit. None of the 13 cases is fully vaccinated. 

Nine people above 60 years old, who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, have fallen very ill, said MOH.

"There is continuing evidence that vaccination helps to prevent serious disease when one gets infected," said the ministry.

"Over the last 28 days, 11 local cases required oxygen supplementation, were admitted to ICU or passed away. Six are unvaccinated, five are partially vaccinated and none was fully vaccinated."

Local cases in the last 28 days by vaccination status & severity of condition. (Figure: MOH)

READ: S$1.1 billion support package for workers, businesses hit by Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) restrictions

READ: ‘Too many established names have fallen’: F&B industry group calls for more support from authorities

The Health Ministry announced in a separate press release that it will conduct mandatory testing for those who live in or work at Blocks 456 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 and Block 340 Clementi Avenue.

This comes after 20 infections were detected among residents of the two blocks, with most of the cases linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster.

Voluntary testing will also be offered to those who had visited or interacted with residents of both blocks.

As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 64,057 COVID-19 cases and 37 fatalities from the disease.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments

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Commentary: Overwhelmed Indonesian hospitals with COVID-19 cases behind high doctor fatalities - CNA

SINGAPORE: The latest tragedy in Indonesia’s fight against COVID-19 is the extraordinary rise of fatalities among Indonesian doctors.

The culprit has been identified as the more contagious coronavirus Delta variant, which triggered a chain reaction in Indonesia’s health system.

At least 545 doctors have died from the coronavirus since it was detected for the first time in the country in early March last year.

This high rate of fatality sharply reduces hospital performance, not only in treating coronavirus patients but also in tending to many others in dire need of hospital care.

The month of July has been a particularly deadly month for Indonesian doctors. At least 108 doctors died due to the coronavirus between early and the mid of July, and the number is expected to rise.

This is a sharp increase compared to Indonesia’s previous infection in January. The number of such fatalities was just 65 in the whole month of January.

READ: Commentary: Inaccurate public understanding of COVID-19 vaccine efficacy has implications for vaccination rates

STARTED IN KUDUS, WORSENED BY IDUL FITRI TRAVEL

The current high rate of fatalities among doctors is triggered by the spread of the much more contagious Delta variant in Indonesia, which started in mid-May. It is believed to have spread first in the Central Java city of Kudus through migrant workers who returned home by the sea.  

These workers were subject to less stringent health checks compared to travellers who entered Indonesia by air.

The sheer volume of cargo ships, entering Indonesia through numerous seaports has made monitoring of each and every crew member challenging for  authorities, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin reportedly conceded in mid-June.

In early June, half of subdistricts in Kudus were declared red zones due to the high infection numbers among medical workers and the local community.

Bed occupancy rate in the city’s hospitals reached more than 90 per cent. At least 30 doctors caught the coronavirus.

The Delta variant infection then swept through Kudus’ surrounding areas including Jepara and Pati before making its way to other cities across the archipelago, including Jakarta.

The variant spread rapidly in part because people were criss-crossing the country, meeting their friends, families and relatives to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday in May.

A doctor shows a barcode from his phone for registering to receive a dose of the Sinovac vaccine. (Photo: Reuters)

READ: As spike in COVID-19 cases taxes healthcare system, some Indonesians have little choice but to isolate at home

Indonesia has seen a 51.4 per cent increase in the spread of the Delta variant since the mid of May, according to University of Indonesia’s Dean of Medicine Ari Fahrial.

LONG HOURS, EXHAUSTED DOCTORS

Bed occupancy rate in all hospitals in six provinces in Java, except East Java province, were above 80 per cent, as of end-June.

Hospitals have, to paraphase a statement from an official at the Indonesia Doctors Association (IDI), “functionally collapsed”, because too few doctors are handling too many patients.

Some 1,900 patients had to wait in emergency wards in Jakarta hospitals as beds for the coronavirus patients were full, Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan revealed just last week.

Another 1,400 had to wait to be allocated hospital beds in their respective houses and numerous community health centres across the capital.

Doctors were overwhelmed with a great number of patients. The hospitals have mobilised more doctors-in-training to address the manpower crunch, but this is insufficient to cope with the sudden and extraordinary rise in the number of patients needing acute care.

READ: Commentary: What’s behind no-shows in vaccination centres across Malaysia?

READ: Commentary: Indonesia is Asia's new COVID-19 epicentre

Health Minister Budi said some hospitals need about 3,000 more doctors last week. But doing so will take some time. The  government only expects to close that gap only by the end of this year when some 3,900 medical interns who would have completed their internship at various hospitals nationwide are ready.

Meanwhile, doctors have been stretched thin. Due to the swelling number of coronavirus patients, many now work for longer hours, between 12 and 14 hours in emergency wards.

Recognising that the fatigue and resulting decrease in immunity made them prone to coronavirus infections, the Indonesia Doctor Association (IDI) called for the government to limit working hours to six hours a day.

The similarly high rate of fatality among nurses is also a cause for concern. Since the pandemic broke out in Indonesia, 445 nurses have died due to coronavirus out of a total of 7,392 nurses who tested positive.

(Are COVID-19 vaccines still effective against new variants? And could these increase the risk of reinfection? Experts explain why COVID-19 could become a “chronic problem" on CNA's Heart of the Matter podcast.)

LOWER EFFICACY FROM SINOVAC

The low efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine has also been blamed for the spread of coronavirus among doctors. It was used in an early national programme to inoculate medical workers. The benefit was it allowed Indonesia to inoculate 87 per cent of healthcare workers by the end of March.

But a substantial number of doctors who have been vaccinated still contracted the coronavirus. In Kudus, 358 medical workers, including doctors, were vaccinated with Sinovac twice, but caught the infection.

To boost their immunity, the government is rolling out a booster shot of Moderna vaccines for healthcare workers who have been jabbed with Sinovac.

There is one side effect of the shocking fatality rates - a rising number of doctor absenteeism, which is straining already stressed resources in hospitals.

READ: Commentary: Southeast Asia is buckling under a second year of COVID-19

Fewer doctors mean each having less time to observe and communicate with patients, which can be fatal when studies have shown that poor communication between doctors and patients is a leading cause of medical errors and patient harm.

Indonesia is losing doctors at a critical point in its COVID-19 fight. It’s a huge loss of medical expertise when many departed doctors are highly trained, experienced physicians in a variety of specialisations including internists, surgeons, paediatricians and gynaecologists.

It will take some time for the healthcare fraternity to rebuild their capacity.  The smaller towns and villages will feel the loss more keenly.

A’an Suryana is Visiting Fellow at ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.

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