The Jakarta Manpower Agency said that they have taken action against more than 1,000 companies for violating the PPKM regulation since the policy was enacted last month.
Several workers interviewed by CNA said their offices have been running at full capacity during the PPKM, adding that the various checkpoints and restrictions in place only meant that they had to travel via back roads and alleyways to get to work.
Experts have expressed concern over this phenomenon and have urged stricter enforcement of the PPKM regulation.
“The pandemic will never be over if people’s mobility and interaction in workplaces remains high,” epidemiologist Windhu Purnomo told CNA.
“MY BOSSES ARE TAKING COVID-19 LIGHTLY”
Aldi works in a technology company, which falls under the essential sector. At the beginning, his employer agreed to follow the PPKM rule by having half of its workforce work from home.
“As a marketing executive, I don’t really need to come to the office. I feel that our productivity remained the same whether we are working from the office or from home. But one advantage to working from home is that we feel a lot safer and we don’t have to worry about the chance of contracting (COVID-19) at work or on our way to work,” he said.
Subsequently, the company reversed its decision and said all employees must return to work in the office starting Jul 26.
“I feel that my bosses are taking COVID-19 lightly. One of our bosses contracted COVID-19 last year but he recovered quickly. Since then, the company has been using his experience as an example. They told us: ‘see, COVID-19 is not all that bad. Stop worrying about returning to the office’,” he said.
He claimed that there are virtually no health protocols and safe distancing measures being implemented.
“Whenever an employee tested positive, all they did was spray some disinfectant fluid at our desks for a few minutes and tell everyone to get back to work once they are done,” he said.
“The company doesn’t even make the effort to perform contact tracing. If we worry about getting infected, we had to get ourselves tested out of our own pocket and the company wouldn’t reimburse us."
Scott Roe, 39, stuck his middle finger up after walking free from court for drink driving. (SWNS)
This was the reaction of a drunk driver who walked free from court despite leaving a mother and daughter with devastating injuries after hitting them head-on in a horror crash.
Scott Roe, 39, ploughed into another car in his Mercedes CLA220 after he "got bored" of following a car that was sticking to the 30mph speed limit in July last year.
He walked away unhurt from the crash but left 39-year-old Kelly Merridew her daughter Chelsea Sidwell, 19, seriously injured.
The mother and daughter were trapped in the wreckage of the crash in Bedworth, Warwickshire, for two hours while emergency crews tried to free them.
Roe, 39, ploughed his £25,000 Mercedes CLA220 head-on into an Audi after he "got bored" of travelling behind another car travelling at the 30mph speed limit. (SWNS)
Sidwell suffered a smashed left knee, ankle and toes, as well as ligament damage and was left in a wheelchair for seven weeks following the crash.
Her mum suffered a shattered pelvis, a dislocated right knee and a badly bruised shoulder.
Tattooist Roe, who had two previous convictions for drink driving, was also taken to hospital where a blood test showed he was over the legal alcohol limit.
The 39-year-old admitted two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drink driving at Warwick Crown Court but walked free from court after being handed a 16-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
He was also ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work, to pay £535 costs and was banned from driving for four years.
Roe pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court, where he was handed a suspended sentence. (Getty)
Sentencing him, Recorder Francesca Levett said: "This was a seriously dangerous manoeuvre executed in the briefest of moments, and no doubt your judgement was clouded by the amount of alcohol you had consumed.
"Your speed was excessive, estimated to have been twice the speed limit in that area.
"What followed was the consequence of your decision to overtake when it was clearly dangerous to do so, and the injuries caused to Miss Sidwell and her mother were extremely serious."
The court heard that the crash happened at dusk when it was raining. Roe was following a car travelling at the 30mph limit when he overtook, ploughing into the mother and daughter at an estimated 60mph.
The Audi the pair was in was hit head on, spinning round and left with its bonnet crushed, trapping them inside.
Prosecutor Sally Cairns said: "The emergency services attended and found Miss Sidwell and Mrs Merridew trapped and in considerable pain, and Miss Sidwell was stuck for two hours before being released and taken to hospital."
The court heard that Sidwell had been forced to give up her job working with children as a result of her injuries.
Roe told police he had been driving behind a car which was doing 20mph and was "bored of waiting" so overtook but lost control.
Andrew Wilkins, defending, said Roe was "horrified at the consequences of his actions".
He said: "It’s a case in which it is a cascade of things that go wrong.
"It all starts to go wrong when he makes the decision to drive after drinking."
Watch: The biggest drug cheats in Olympics history
The closing ceremony for any Olympics is always a more muted affair than the opening ceremony — since the Olympics are over, of course — but Japan put on an optimistic, jaunty show. It began with a show of worldwide unity, with the flag bearers from every country coming together and forming a circle.
Then the athletes came into the stadium, and even the grass they were standing on was symbolic of Japan's hospitality.
There were also street performers, including jugglers, dancers, and, skateboarders, and an extended performance by the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.
Unfortunately there's no video of the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's performance on social media quite yet, so if you didn't catch the ceremony live you'll have to wait until Sunday night to see the white-jacketed ska horn players constantly dancing around on stage. But these pictures should tide you over until then, and give you the general idea of the positively ska-riffic tone.
One of the highlights was a gorgeous light display, during which thousands of small lights swirled over the athletes' heads and formed into the five Olympic rings.
The final medals of the Olympics were given out to the winners of the last events of the Olympics, the men's marathon, and for the first time, to the women's marathon as well.
Handing over the Games to Paris
After a performance of traditional Japanese song and dance, the ceremony began looking forward. The next Olympic Games will take place in just three years in Paris. The Olympic flag was officially handed over to the mayor of Paris, and the national anthem of France was played to make the transition official.
The anthem even ended with a French astronaut who is currently orbiting the Earth playing his saxophone, which was an amazing detail no one could have expected.
There was even a video of a live Olympic celebration in Paris, the first time that's been included in a closing ceremony. It ended with a flyover of jets spraying the colors of the French flag behind them, and a closeup of the enormous Paris 2024 flag that's flying from the actual Eiffel Tower. If that's any indication, the Paris games will be a banger.
Then the cauldron, which was lit by Naomi Osaka over two weeks ago, was finally extinguished, and the Games came to an end.
If you're already going through Olympics withdrawal, you won't be for long. The 2022 Winter Games in Beijing aren't that far away. They kick off on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in just 180 days.
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will give greater leeway for travel, dining out and engagement in outdoor sports to those who have completed Covid-19 vaccination in places that have moved out of the most serious phase of a nationwide lockdown.
Fully vaccinated Malaysian residents returning to the country will also be allowed to undergo quarantine at home.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Sunday (Aug 8) that local tourism within states or federal territories, non-contact outdoor sports and exercise, as well as dining at eateries will be allowed from Tuesday in places that have progressed to at least phase two of the National Recovery Plan.
Currently, these are Perlis, Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan which are in phase three, as well as Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Penang and Sabah which are in phase two.
"I understand many are faced with pandemic fatigue. Taking into account feedback from the Health Ministry, the government is prepared to allow conveniences to those who have completed their vaccination," Tan Sri Muhyiddin said.
People will be able to enjoy the easing of restrictions 14 days after their second vaccine dose, or 28 days in the case of single-dose vaccines.
The vaccines mentioned by the Premier are those manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson and CanSino, which have been approved by Malaysia. It was not immediately clear if other vaccines would be accepted.
Exceptions will be made nationwide for fully vaccinated spouses, as well as parents and their children younger than 18, to meet after months of being divided by district or state lines.
The Prime Minister cautioned that dining in was riskier than other social activities as it involved removing face masks.
“I would like to advise the public to dine in only when necessary and not spend too long. Pick a location which has good ventilation,” he said, adding that restaurateurs should prepare more open-air seats to reduce the risk of infection.
Fully vaccinated parents are allowed to take their children to eateries.
People who have completed their jabs will also be allowed to return to places of worship, subject to strict guidelines.
Mr Muhyiddin warned that the "government will not hesitate to revoke these conveniences if there are breaches of guidelines".
He also said relaxations for the economic sector are still being discussed and will be announced soon.
Over eight million people in Malaysia, or about 36 per cent of its adult population, have been fully inoculated against the coronavirus, with the government projecting 50 per cent coverage by the end of August.
At that point, the barometer for phases will shift from average daily cases and intensive care utilisation in hospitals to symptomatic hospital admissions, given that the vaccines have been proven to greatly reduce the risk of critical cases.
Under Malaysia’s National Recovery Plan, phase one is a full lockdown of activities except those deemed essential, while phase two allows for slight easing of restrictions, especially in workplace operations.
The third phase sees most sectors of the economy operating while some curbs on social sectors remain, and phase four is nearly a full reopening.
About half of the country's daily infections - which breached 20,000 twice in the past week - have come from the Klang Valley, which comprises Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The economic hub of the country remains in phase one.
A record 360 people succumbed to Covid-19 on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 10,749. Some 18,688 new patients were recorded, raising the total to 1,262,540 since the pandemic began.
The relaxed rules
Under the new rules, returning citizens and residents who are fully vaccinated can serve their quarantine at home from tomorrow. Currently, they must undergo quarantine at designated hotels.
For the first time in three months, interstate travels are allowed but only for fully vaccinated long-distance couples and parents visiting children under the age of 18.
Fully vaccinated residents may also enter houses of worship for prayers from tomorrow.
The government also eased certain restrictions in states and federal territories under the second and third phase of the National Recovery Plan. They are Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Penang, Sabah, Perlis, Labuan and Sarawak.
In these places, dine-ins are allowed with a seating capacity of 50 per cent per table. Cross-district travel and intrastate tourism involving homestays or hotels would also be allowed.
Residents there can practise sports without physical contact such as jogging, cycling, taiji, fishing, hiking, golf and skateboarding from 6am to 10pm.
Contact sports and group exercises remain prohibited, along with changing and showers at clubhouse premises.
Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi (left) celebrates after Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim offers to share the gold medal in the men's high jump final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (PHOTO: Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
Reporting from Tokyo
TOKYO — Whenever an Olympic Games comes along, organisers would always promise to be a unique and unforgettable experience for all.
Without a doubt, this Olympics will be remembered as one of the most unique and unforgettable Games in its 125-year history - although the Tokyo organisers certainly did not wish for it to be remembered this way.
For it was the first Games to be postponed due to a pandemic; the first Games where fans were barred from attending; and the first Games where athletes were forced to pull out for being tested positive for a virus. The cloud of COVID-19 hung heavy amid the sporting fiesta, as Japan's capital could only watch from afar while it battled a rising number of daily new cases.
Yet, there were glorious sparks of brilliance and grace that lit up the Tokyo Games, transcending it above the strain it endured in hosting the event. Whether its off-field legacy would eventually overshadow its sporting achievements remains to be seen, but here are five indelible memories of the Games worth keeping:
Olympic spirit shines through despite online nastiness
Sometimes, sports fans get so caught up in the "win at all costs" mentality prevalent in professional sports that they bring that mentality to the Olympics, an event which in essence celebrates the amateur sportsman's indomitable spirit.
Witness all the nasty insults hurled at losing athletes on social media, and you'll get a sense of how little these so-called fans understand the Olympic philosophy.
But every Olympic edition would throw up a few instances of genuine sporting gestures that would reignite one's hope for humanity, and the Tokyo Games were no different.
The best example must surely be Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim's offer to share his gold with rival and good friend Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, instead of going into a tie-breaker to settle who's first.
Barshim's subtle nod and Tamberi's joyous celebration will be remembered as a highlight of these Games, and lest you think gold medals are often shared at the Olympics, this is the first time it has happened since 1912.
There were many other heartwarming instances peppered throughout the Olympics, of winners consoling those whom they had beaten; of rivals sharing warm embraces after intense battles minutes ago; and of distraught losers still finding the graciousness to extend congratulatory handshakes to those who defeated them.
Even when a runner tripped and caught another, causing both to fall and lose their chances of glory, there were no recriminations. "Sorry," said Nijel Amos. "It's okay," said Isaiah Jewett. And they helped each other up and jogged together to the finish line of their men's 800m heat.
These are memories worth recalling whenever we lose sight of the value of sports, and get miserable over defeats and failures. The Olympics may be intensely competitive, but at its heart is a celebration of ordinary humans pushing their limits, and thankfully most athletes still understand such sporting spirit. Fans should too.
Simone Biles competes in the women's balance beam final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (PHOTO: Elsa/Getty Images)
Simone Biles' pullouts make an important statement
It is extraordinary that this Olympics will be remembered most for an athlete pulling out of most of her competitions, yet US gymnastics star Simone Biles sparked a global conversation on mental wellbeing when she withdrew from multiple medalling events, of which she was tipped to win before the Games began.
In doing so, she made a powerful statement: that every athlete should have the right to say "stop", and not be beholden to decisions by coaches, officials, fans or sponsors. Together with tennis star Naomi Osaka, Biles showed bravery in acknowledging her mental frailty in spite of her reputation as a dominant competitor. This must be applauded, and not admonished because she could not win gold medals for her country.
The only grey area was her assertion that she hopes she can be a role model for young women with her actions. That jarred, because there is also value in persistence and pushing oneself to the limit.
Everyone's mental strength is constituted differently, and for Biles to say that her actions should be emulated, she may have unwittingly underestimated the occasions when competitive spirit can overcome all barriers, including mental challenges.
It would have been more effective had she kept quiet and let her actions speak for themselves, letting young women understand that, "Yes, be persistent, but know that you have an option to stop too."
Nonetheless, Biles' actions were a step in the right direction in athletes' wellbeing, and could mark a significant change in treatment of top sportspeople around the world. And when she returned and landed a bronze for her one and only event, it was a courageous conclusion to a harrowing week when she had to confront her mental demons amid constant media chatter.
Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz competes in the women's 55kg competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (PHOTO: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images)
Hidilyn Diaz hopes to inspire with first gold for Philippines
Here's another athlete who wants to be a role model. Philippines weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz has long been encouraging young Filipinas to follow in her footsteps in chasing their sporting dreams.
In Tokyo, the 30-year-old achieved her ultimate sporting dream, winning the gold medal after a tense women's 55kg final duel with China's Liao Qiuyun. It was the Philippines' first-ever Olympic gold, ending the nation's long 97-year wait since they first joined the Summer Games in 1924.
As she was overcome with surges of emotions following her monumental achievement, words also tumbled out of a teary Diaz at the mixed zone, as she continued to exhort her countrymen to rise up from their humble backgrounds and make a difference to their communities.
Diaz's golden triumph on her fourth Olympic attempt should prove a potent inspiration for Filipinos, many of whom are weary from battling the coronavirus for much of the past 18 months. Even though her own Olympic preparations had been severely disrupted by COVID-19 - being stuck in Malaysia, she was forced to train in makeshift gyms in a rural town - she has somehow willed herself to do the seemingly impossible.
"I’ve never lifted 127kg before, ever," she told Yahoo News Singapore of her Olympic-record clean-and-jerk lift that won her the gold over Liao. "But somehow I did it tonight."
Singapore paddler Yu Meng Yu celebrates a point as she competes against France's Yuan Jia Nan in the women's team competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (PHOTO: Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Yu Mengyu finds spark in final Olympics
Yu Mengyu had always flown under the radar, being in the shadows of her more illustrious teammates in the Singapore women's national table tennis squad such as Li Jiawei, Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu. Reticent and soft-spoken, she seemed content to be in the background, focusing just on playing her sport.
But at the Tokyo Olympics, in what she would later reveal to be her final Games outing, the 31-year-old seemed refreshed and rejuvenated, as if the fact that her Olympic career was coming to an end had lifted some invisible weight off her shoulders.
On the court, she was fearless and constantly on the front foot, confounding her opponents with her newfound confidence. Off the court during post-match interviews, she was relaxed and eloquent, never snapping back at tough questions, even offering smiles beneath her face mask.
This new positive attitude propelled the world No.47 to her best-ever showing at the Olympics, coming in fourth in the women's singles competition and beating world No.8 Cheng I-ching along the way. In a way, it proved how much her inherent talents have been hampered by numerous debilitating injuries throughout her career; every time she was poised for a breakthrough, she was laid low by another painful setback.
Yu said that, in leaving everything out on the court, she has no regrets of her injury-blighted career. There were some bright spots among Team Singapore athletes - such as fencer Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman, marathon swimmer Chantal Liew, and sailors Kimberly Lim and Cecilia Low - but for finding that extra spark to put a satisfactory finishing touch to her Olympic career, Yu gets my pick as the outstanding Singaporean athlete of the Tokyo Games.
Empty stands in the men's preliminary beach volleyball match between Brazil and the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (PHOTO: Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images)
Games without fans doesn't mean poor Games
More than any other recent Olympics, the Tokyo Games needed a superhero. Someone who could win golds and set world records, capture the attention and imagination of the global audience, and make up for the lack of fans in the stands.
That superhero never came. No otherworldly record beaters like Usain Bolt came along to make our jaws drop. No gold-winning machines a la Michael Phelps arrived to make us wonder at their mastery at their sports.
Sure, there were exceptional winners such as Caeleb Dressel (five swimming golds), Emma McKeon (seven swimming medals), Karsten Warholm (400m hurdles winner and record breaker) and Elaine Thompson-Herah (doing the women's 100m and 200m double).
But none of them had transcendent qualities such as Bolt's effortless swagger or Phelps' wholesome grin. They just won, and then went away without leaving much iconic memories.
And with pre-Games stars such as Biles, Osaka and Novak Djokovic not able to win golds, it could really have made the lack of fans at the Games extra damaging, as the lack of buzz amid the near-empty arenas was echoed all over the huge Tokyo metropolis.
But a "quiet" Games does not necessarily mean a poor Games. Not when the officials and volunteers did their utmost to ensure such a large-scale sports event can be run smoothly.
You have to admire the volunteers' continuous politeness amid the punishingly hot weather throughout the Games - never losing their patience at the frequent whining from us journalists, always ready to lend a hand should we or the athletes encounter problems.
Their friendliness rubbed off on the athletes, most of whom behaved impeccably at the Games. And nowhere was this clearer in the newest sports in the Olympic programme - surfing, sports climbing, skateboarding and karate - where the competitors were cheering on their rivals, even consoling those who erred or fumbled.
And an Olympic Games that displayed the finest of sportsmanship and camaraderie among athletes does not deserve to be labelled a poor Games. It is through no fault of the athletes that they had to compete without fans, yet they have risen above the numerous COVID-19 restrictions and lack of atmosphere to continue being excellent.
For that, the one-of-a-kind Tokyo Olympics deserves to be remembered for the positive things, rather than its unfortunate circumstances. Let's hope the Paris 2024 could see a return of the all-important fans, so that the athletes can finally have their audience back.
The Special Committee on Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply in Malaysia had discussed the topic of booster jabs during a meeting recently.
Health Minister and committee co-chair Adham Baba confirmed this on Saturday (Aug 7), saying that National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin is set to make an announcement soon.
Some countries like Indonesia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have already rolled out their booster shot programmes. Others such as Cambodia, Britain and France are slated to start soon.
Due to the more contagious Delta variant, Indonesia started giving a third shot of the vaccine to its healthcare workers following the deaths of hundreds of frontliners over the past two months, many of whom had been fully vaccinated.
According to reports, the programme, which started in late last month, will dispense 1½ million shots of the Moderna vaccine to frontliners, many of whom had completed the two-dose regimen of another vaccine.
Russia launched a revaccination programme last month, offering booster shots for people fully immunised more than six months ago.
Cambodia will also begin offering booster shots, switching between AstraZeneca and Chinese-made vaccines, to give better protection against Covid-19 for between 500,000 and one million frontliners.
It was reported last month that Thailand plans to give booster shots of mRNA vaccines to its medical staff who were fully immunised with Sinovac.
And as early as May, it was made known that the UAE and Bahrain will offer a third Sinopharm shot to people who had already gotten two doses of the same vaccine.
Earlier this month, the UAE expanded its scope for booster shots eligibility to include anyone fully inoculated, with people considered as high-risk individuals to be eligible three months after their second vaccine dose and for others, six months after.
Over in Europe, starting next month, Britain will offer booster shots to 32 million residents with 2,000 pharmacies set to deliver the programme.
France, Germany and Sweden are among those that have announced that vulnerable groups such as the elderly and immunocompromised will be offered a booster shot as early as next month.
Meanwhile, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech have applied for approval from regulators in the United States and European countries to give a booster dose following completion of its two-dose regimen vaccine.
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilised the military to carry out relief work in areas recently hit by heavy rains, state media said on Sunday, amid concerns over an economic crisis and food shortage.
The ruling Worker's Party's Central Military Commission held a meeting of its chapter in the eastern province of South Hamgyong to discuss damage and recovery from the downpour, the official KCNA news agency said.
Kim did not attend the meeting but party officials conveyed his message that the military should kick off a relief campaign and provide necessary supplies in the region, KCNA said.
"It was also emphasised that he called for awakening and arousing the (party) officials ... into waging the recovery campaign skilfully and unyieldingly," KCNA said.
KCNA did not specify the extent of rain damage but said the military commission explored emergency measures to rebuild the disaster-stricken areas, stabilise people's living, prevent the coronavirus and minimise crop injuries.
The meeting came amid concerns over a crisis in a reclusive economy that has already been dogged by international sanctions, aimed at curbing its nuclear and weapons programmes.
Kim said in June the country faced a "tense" food situation, citing the coronavirus pandemic and last year's typhoons, and recently South Korea's central bank said North Korea's economy suffered its biggest contraction in 23 years in 2020.
North Korea has not confirmed any COVID-19 cases but closed borders, halted trade and imposed strict prevention measures, seeing the pandemic as an issue of national survival.
South Korean lawmakers said last week that North Korea needed 1 million tonnes of rice, with military and emergency reserves running out.
