Since the start of the pandemic, BPOM Chief Penny Kusumastuti Lukito often found herself at the center of Covid-related polemics, from drug claims, emergency use authorizations, vaccines, ivermectin to the Nusantara vaccine. How does she deal with these?

President Joko Widodo appointed Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto to oversee the enforcement of multi-level public activity restrictions or PPKM outside Java and Bali following the surge in Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. Amid the challenging job of managing the pandemic, Golkar Party’s Chair still manages to go on political canvassing trips to several regions.

National Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo says that the police will first try mediation to resolve Electronic Information and Transactions Law violation cases. He advises investigators to distinguish between criticisms, hoaxes, libels or slanders and to process only cases that could not be settled through mediation.

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.