Indonesia evaluates large-scale social restrictions
Indonesian President Joko Widodo assessed the implementation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) policy to curb the spread of the COVID-19 during a meeting held via teleconference on May 12.
Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo assessedthe implementation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) policy to curbthe spread of the COVID-19 during a meeting held via teleconference on May 12.
He noted that the results before and after theimplementation of the PSBB were varied and differed across four provinces and72 districts and cities.
Consequently, the number of new cases in regions haddecreased gradually and consistently but not drastically, though there wereareas where the number of cases had declined but had also not been consistentand still volatile.
Of the 10 provinces with the most positive cases, onlythree, namely Jakarta, West Java, and West Sumatra, had the PSBB status, whileseven others were still non-PSBB. However, those provinces implemented aphysical distancing policy and strict health protocols in the people's dailylives.
Data of the Task Force on COVID-19 prevention showed that Javarecords 70 percent of the positive cases, and 82 percent of mortality.
The president urged the force to ensure that the COVID-19pandemic is effectively brought under control in five provinces in Java,especially in the subsequent two weeks.
During the meeting, he also sought to ease the PSBB in acareful manner and not hurriedly.
Most businesses in Indonesia only have enough cash tocontinue operating until the end of June, said Sutrisno Iwantono, deputychairman of public policy at the Indonesian Employers' Association.
Indonesia’s economy expanded only 2.97 percent in the firstquarter, its lowest in almost two decades./.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on May 11 stressed three focuses to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, namely scaling up tests, boosting surveillance on migrant workers who will come back home, and accelerating the production of medical equipment and COVID-19 medicine.
Indonesian citizens aged 45 and under may be allowed to resume working because they are not prone to the COVID-19, according to head of the country's COVID-19 task force Doni Monardo.
An aircraft operated by the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has crashed into Sentani Lake in Indonesia’s Papua province, killing its pilot, local police said on May 12.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left millions of Indonesians struggling to make ends meet. Now the local authorities are rolling out “rice ATMs” in a bid to ensure greater access for those in need to the essential staple.
The Republic of Korea (RoK), China and Japan agreed on May 3 to reinforce the regional financial safety net, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), by launching a new financing facility programme meant to extend greater support in case of a financial crisis.
A technical issue combined with an extreme heatwave was blamed for a series of explosions at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured several others in Cambodia on April 27, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a May 2 statement as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
The Customs Department of Thailand is scheduled to commence the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods sent via postal services, regardless of the goods value, starting in May.
A lecturer from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine has warned Thais to be more vigilant against COVID-19, saying infection rates appeare to be worsening with higher hospital admissions, deaths and severe cases.
Malaysia should harness the collective expertise and resources to drive sustainable growth and development of the halal industry, according to Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Laos has officially restored the 10% value-added tax (VAT) rate starting May 1, in a bid to support the country’s budget revenue and socio-economic development.
The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) entered its second plenary session in Hanoi on the afternoon of April 23, discussing ways to ensure comprehensive security for the people-centred ASEAN Community.
The first session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) in Hanoi on April 23 focused on fast and sustainable growth for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Markets (AACM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and accelerate the implementation of carbon crediting programmes across Southeast Asia.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Photo: Antara) 
