Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry or Kadin confirmed that more than 28,000 companies have thus far registered for the Gotong Royong Covid-19 Vaccination program with around 10.5 million participants, including employees and their families.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Chairperson Asfinawati opined that the government has consistently denied the chaos in handling the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

She responded to the statement of Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan (LBP) that the pandemic handling is under control.

Ahmad Fikri (Contributor), Bandung – West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil confirmed that there was unsynchronized data on Covid-19 reports issued by the regional and central government.

"The data gap is still happening today. What I announce every day (Covid-19 cases), 20-30 percent of them are old cases, which are late [to be announced]," he said on Monday, July 12.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo pledges support for the province's industrial estate development, seeking to boost investment in the manufacturing industry and integrated agriculture sectors in one of Indonesia's most populous regions.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Human rights abuses continue to fester in the Indonesian palm oil industry as global brands and financial institutions and investors turn a blind eye to the problem, a new report says.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Indonesia has surpassed India's daily Covid-19 case numbers after it reported a record of nearly 50,000 infections on Tuesday (July 13) and its health minister said the daily new cases will continue to spike in the coming days.

Anyone from the Greater Jakarta Area commuting to the capital proper must, starting today, have a Worker Registration Certificate (STRP) in hand, with checks for the document already set up at most public transportation facilities.

A leading British human rights advocate and former political prisoner in Indonesia, Carmel Budiardjo, has died, aged 96.

Budiardjo, who became an Indonesian citizen in 1954, was the founder of TAPOL, an organisation which has, since 1973, advocated for the release of political prisoners in Indonesia and provided information about abuse.

Strong performance in the oil sector has boosted Timor-Leste's 2021 GDP growth forecast from 2.5 to 4 per cent, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

"Strong oil production volumes in early 2021 have prompted us to raise our forecast for GDP growth in 2021," the EIU's most recent report on the Timorese economy stated.

Firdia Lisnawati, Denpasar, Indonesia – Indonesia on Monday ordered four foreign tourists to leave the resort island of Bali after violating health protocols as the country endures a devastating wave of COVID-19 illnesses and deaths.

Ryan Dagur and Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Authorities in Indonesia's West Java province have fired several funeral workers tasked with burying Covid-19 victims following claims of discriminatory treatment of non-Muslims.

Grace Sihombing – Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Kimia Farma will start selling vaccines to the public on Monday as the country seeks to accelerate inoculations and achieve herd immunity by the end of the year.

Jakarta – University of Indonesia epidemiologist Pandu Riono along with several other colleagues from the Vaccine for All Coalition is garnering support from the public through an online petition urging President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to immediately stop the private vaccination program.

Rifki Nurfajri, Jakarta – State-owned pharmaceutical company PT Kimia Farma delayed the rollout of its privately paid COVID-19 vaccine program on Monday, a day after announcing it would begin offering the service at certain clinics starting this week.

Jakarta (Bloomberg) – Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma is delaying a plan to sell Covid-19 vaccines after public backlash against the move.

The company will focus on preparing the programme first, said Mr Ganti Winarno Putro, a spokesman for the company.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – Indonesian minister Luhut Pandjaitan said he expected the COVID-19 curve to flatten and the situation to improve by next week, as the country is battling a surge in COVID-19 cases that has overwhelmed the nation's healthcare system.

Anne Barker – Results from an Indonesian health survey indicate almost half the entire population of Jakarta – 4.7 million people from a population of 10.6 million – have antibodies against COVID-19.

Mega Safitri, Jakarta – Co-founder of pandemic mitigation watchdog LaporCovid-19, Ahmad Arif, on Monday revealed there were 451 people who died during self-isolation. The highest number came from West Java, which logged 160 deaths during coronavirus self-isolation.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition urged the government to revoke the regulation on the Gotong Royong's paid Covid-19 vaccination for individuals. This latest policy was considered as the government's failure to carry out vaccination for all people.

Around 45 COVID-19 patients in self-isolation die in Jakarta each day while many more have died nationwide, Lapor COVID-19 said today, illustrating the severity of the country's healthcare system collapse amid a devastating wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

"There must be a refocusing of the state budget and the president as the supreme head of state must be able to revoke this policy.

Fahreza Rizky, Jakarta – Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has admitted to proposing that places of worship not be closed during the emergency Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM). The proposal was made based on the wishes of ulama (Islamic leaders) and religious figures.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) mourns the death of Carmel Budiardjo, a tireless defender of human rights in Indonesia, West Papua and Timor-Leste, who passed away July 10 in London at the age of 96.

We join with many around the world in mourning her passing and in celebrating her inspiring life.

Hendro Situmorang, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia reported another record-breaking daily numbers of Covid-19 cases which for the first time surpassed the 40,000 mark on Monday, the tenth day since lockdown was reimposed in provinces across stricken Java and Bali.

Jakarta – An Indonesian doctor who appeared on podcasts and a television talk show to state that Covid-19 is a lie and that healthy people died from "excessive Covid medication" has been arrested, police said on Monday.

Dr. Lois Owien said on several occasions that many people have died after being given various drugs against Covid-19, which she also doubted ever existed.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia received another batch of Sinovac's Covid-19 bulk vaccines at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on Monday.

Singapore – Tri Wahyono was trying to keep it together. It was rush hour on a weeknight in late June in Yogyakarta, a city on the Indonesian island of Java, but the streets were almost empty. It had been like that for a couple of weeks.

Carmel Budiardjo, TAPOL's founder and driving force for many decades, passed away peacefully on the morning of Saturday 10th July.

Just two months ago, Indonesia was coming to a gasping India's aid with thousands tanks of oxygen.

Today, the South-East Asian country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – Indonesia has been grappling with a surge in COVID-19 infections for the past few weeks, consistently recording more than 30,000 new daily cases.

On Friday (Jul 9), the country reported 38,124 cases. There are now more than 2.4 million infections and over 64,000 deaths.

Jakarta – Almost half of Jakarta's 10 million population has had Covid-19 at a point in time since the pandemic began last year, a serology survey revealed on Saturday, stoking hopes that the capital would soon reach the elusive herd immunity against the disease.

Jakarta – The National Defense Forces (TNI) recruited thousands of medical and non-medical volunteers at the TNI Headquarters in Jakarta on Saturday as vaccinators and administrative officers for its mass COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Jakarta – Indonesia held a moment of silence on Saturday morning to remember the lives lost to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The one-minute silence took place on Saturday morning, precisely at 10.07 a.m. local time.

Antara, Jakarta – The government has set the price for Sinopharm complete vaccination at Rp879,140 per person, said the spokesperson of the Health Ministry's COVID-19 Vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi.

Jakarta – University of Indonesia epidemiologist Pandu Riono is questioning the grounds for the government changing the emergency Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM) rules on places of worship. As has been reported, places of worship are now allowed to open.

Dian Septiari, Jakarta – The government has announced a plan to give nearly 1.5 million health workers a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from United States pharmaceutical firm Moderna as a "booster", to provide them with better protection while battling the deadly "second wave" of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Zena Chamas, Farid M Ibrahim and Max Walden – Each night, Tara McGowan hears ambulances drive past her home every 10 minutes. In the past week alone, four parents of students at the Indonesian university where she teaches English have died from COVID-19.

Singapore – Entry approvals for travellers from Indonesia to Singapore who are not citizens or permanent residents here will be reduced with immediate effect, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Saturday (July 10).

This is part of tightened border control measures by Singapore, given the increase in Covid-19 cases in Indonesia.

Adi Kurniawan, Jakarta (Reuters) – As Indonesia struggles to tackle a devastating surge in COVID-19 infections, authorities in Jakarta have deployed teams of health workers to drive around the capital and vaccinate communities in crowded, harder-to-access districts.

Jakarta – Soon environmental destruction is on the same level as genocide and will come under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. This is an opportunity to take action against those in Indonesia who are damaging the environment.

Dian Septiari, Jakarta – Assistance from neighboring countries began trickling into Indonesia on Friday, as Singapore and Australia sent medical equipment and oxygen supplies, with more countries expected to deliver on their pledges, the government announced.

Gemma Holliani Cahya in Jakarta and Rebecca Ratcliffe – From her home in Pamekasan, East Java, Dr Ratna Hermawati can hear the names of the dead echoing out across her neighbourhood. A new Covid-19 fatality is announced from a speaker at the nearby mosque at least five times a day.

Jakarta – No matter how impolite it is, criticism of the government from students must not be muzzled. Allowing rectors to hold a position in state-owned companies weakens the independence of campuses.

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Police have arrested three people in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province for attacking a Protestant church.

The attackers threw stones at the church belonging to the Congregation of Christ Church in the provincial capital Samarinda on July 8, smashing its windows, according to police.

Foreigners in Bali are making headlines in Indonesia (yet again) this week amid tighter COVID-19 restrictions in the province, the group of which include the somewhat expected mask rule violators as well as one foreign national who allegedly wandered around town despite testing positive for the coronavirus.

Jakarta – Ivermectin is being promoted by a number of politicians and businesspeople as an effective treatment against the coronavirus. The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency must be independent from pressure.

Like a broken record, the Jakarta Provincial Government is urging people to stay at home amid a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases, which saw the capital exceed 100,000 active cases as of yesterday.

A'an Suryana and Nur Syafiqah Mohd Taufek – Facing a sentence that will see him behind bars till 2025, radical cleric Habib Rizieq Shihab will face problems bouncing back from the political wilderness. His enforced absence from the political scene will be a boon to secular and nationalist presidential candidates.

Adam Prireza, Jakarta – The Jakarta provincial government on Thursday has launched a mobile Covid-19 vaccination program, which utilizes specifically-built trucks, in order to boost the city's vaccination count.

Natasia Christy Wahyuni, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The government confirmed on Thursday the highly transmissible Delta variant is the main culprit behind the ongoing dramatic spike in newly coronavirus cases and deaths.