Situation Update: Response to COVID-19 in Indonesia (As of 23 November 2020) [EN/ID] – Indonesia

As of 23 November, the Indonesian Government has announced 502,110 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in all 34 provinces and in 505 out of 514 districts/municipalities in Indonesia, with 16,002 confirmed deaths from the virus, and 422,386 people that have recovered from the illness. The government has also reported 66,279 suspected cases. The Positivity Rate (the number of positive results compared to the number of cases examined through specimen) was recorded at 14 percent as of 22 November.

The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) revoked the Emergency Use Authorization for drugs containing Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate and distribution permits for drugs containing Chloroquine Phosphate on 13 November.
The BPOM urged these drugs not to be used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

A national survey on the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine was conducted by the Ministry of Health together with the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) with the support of UNICEF and WHO. The survey aimed to understand the views, perceptions and concerns of the public regarding COVID-19 vaccination, with data collection taking place on 19-30 September, and reached more than 115,000 people from 34 provinces covering 508 districts / cities or 99 percent of all districts / cities. The survey results show that three-quarters of respondents had heard about the COVID-19 vaccine and two-thirds of respondents said they were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The highest acceptance rate for vaccines was reported in Papua Province with 75 percent, while Aceh Province had the lowest acceptance rate with 46 percent. The safety, effectiveness, and halal adherence of the vaccines were the main considerations of seven percent of respondents who refused to get vaccinated.

On 20 November, a Joint Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture, Minister of Religion, Minister of Health and Minister of Home Affairs was issued regarding Guidelines for the Implementation of Learning in the 2020/2021 Academic Year and the 2020/2021 Academic Year during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Based on this decree, the granting of permission to implement face-to-face learning in educational units is carried out by the regional government, the provincial office of the Ministry of Religion, and / or the district / city office of the Ministry of Religion in accordance with their authority. The granting of face-to-face learning permits is carried out simultaneously in one province, regency or city or in stages per district or village. The Joint Decree was complemented by a more detailed Guide to Implementing Learning for the 2020/2021 Academic Year and the 2020/2021 Academic Year during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

On 23 November, the President stated that the implementation of salary assistance or subsidies for workers with salaries below IDR.5 million reached 82 percent, and working capital assistance to micro enterprises reached 79 percent, both assistances are part of the National Economic Recovery program. On another occasion, the Presidential Staff Office announced that the implementation of the overall national economic recovery budget reached IDR.386.01 trillion as of 11 November (55.5 percent of the budget of IDR.695.2 trillion). The largest implementation was in the MSME sector which amounted to IDR.95.62 trillion (83.3 percent), while the lowest one was in the corporate financing sector at IDR.2 trillion (3.2 percent).

The Jakarta Provincial Government has extended the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) transition to new normal for another two weeks until 6 December. The average bed occupancy rate in the 98 referral hospitals for patients infected with the corona virus in Jakarta has increased in the last two weeks from 56 percent to 73 percent. Meanwhile, the bed capacity for the Intensive Care Unit has reached 70 percent, (591 beds from the maximum capacity of 841 beds), from 60 percent in the previous two weeks.

Below are the main highlights of activities conducted by the National Clusters and MSRP priority areas’ work over the past two weeks:

Health:

• On 14 November, WHO, in collaboration with FAO, the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 Task Force, trained data managers on contact tracing. Data managers are an important resource in contact tracing centers to strengthen coordination of COVID-19 contact tracing activities between the field and national levels.
  Risk Communication and Community Engagement:

• Following similar activities in North Maluku and West Kalimantan, Wahana Visi Indonesia with the support of WHO conducted virtual Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) trainings for health workers in East Nusa Tenggara on 12 November and Papua on 16 November. The training examined issues that including the stigmatization of patients with COVID-19 and healthcare workers, and the RCCE strategy to ensure that communities comply with health protocols.
  Education:

• UNICEF continues to provide technical support to the Ministry of Education and Culture to increase the response rate using a RapidPro-based data collection tool that monitors schools reopening with compliance with the required safety protocols. As of the first week of November, at least 19,700 schools had started faceto-face teaching and learning sessions across the country.

Camp Coordination and Camp Management & GBV:

• A virtual training on Disaster Preparedness and the COVID-19 Pandemic by the National Displacement and Protection Cluster was held on 12 November; a total of 92 people participated. With the theme of Coordination and Management of Camp and Protection against Gender Based Violence, this training was organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs with the support of partners including HFI, IOM, WFP, UNFPA, IFRC, RedR Indonesia,
  Predikt and YEU.