Epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia’s Public Heath Faculty Iwan Ariawan says that the Level 1-4 public activity restrictions (PPKM) have been proven effective in slowing down the speed of Covid-19 transmission. Iwan who follows weekly virtual meetings with Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin and Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan says that with increased testing and contact tracing ratios coupled with the second phase vaccination, the government hopes to rein in the pandemic in October or November.

Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali is not just assigned to improving governance of his ministry but also is the process of finalizing the national sports grand design. Focusing on the 14 key sports which include badminton and weightlifting, the blueprint is designed to improve the country’s performance up to the Olympic level.

Galvanized by alarming spikes in numbers of positive cases and deaths resulting from the Delta variant of Covid-19, Bio Farma is accelerating the production of Covid-19 vaccines. Yet, vaccine stocks remain stagnant with uneven distribution in many regions. With a production capacity of up to 6 million doses per week or 250 million doses a year, Bio Farma’s CEO Honesti Basyir hopes that the company can fulfill the country’s vaccine need.

Right after his appointment as Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Kadin) Chair, Arsjad Rasjid launched the ‘War against the Pandemic’ movement. Alongside the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri), he urged businesses to get involved seriously to fight the pandemic. Arsjad says Kadin is helping the government with vaccination and medical oxygen supply. But he dismisses the assertion that Kadin plans to sell vaccines through the Gotong Royong vaccination program.

Secretary-General of the Indonesian Hospital Association (Persi) Lia Gardenia: adding more beds for Covid-19 patients will not solve the problem if the problems at the upstream are not resolved.

Below are excerpts from an interview with Sung Y. Kim, new United States Ambassador to Indonesia. Ambassador Sung Kim was born in Seoul to South Korean parents. Having spent the majority of his diplomatic career in Asia, he has a deep understanding of the region. This is his first interview with the local media since his arrival in Jakarta last June. He discussed vaccine assistance (to Indonesia), the weapon system procurement as well as cooperation for mitigating climate change issues.