Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – Coordinator of volunteer group LaporCovid-19, Said Fariz Hibban, said the group highly regrets the Health Ministry's response which they claim has played down an emergency situation happening in numerous hospitals treating Covid-19 patients.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – University of Indonesia (UI) epidemiologist Pandu Riono on Sunday suggests the disbandment of the COVID-19 handling committee and national economic recovery (KPC-PEN) to President Joko Widodo.

Syaharani Putri, Jakarta – Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno in his latest Instagram post plans on banning popular online game Fortnite, believing the game goes against religious values.

If one were to measure the effectiveness of tightened measures under the Emergency Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (Emergency PPKM) by traffic density, one would likely come to the conclusion that it has failed miserably given the gridlocks on some of Jakarta's major roads this morning.

A devastating second wave of COVID-19 has led to desperation among many in Indonesia, to the point that this is as good a time as any to tout any random thing to be able to cure or prevent the disease. Even if that thing is a milk product with a perplexing choice for a mascot.

Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies, Singapore – The fears that Indonesia was heading down the same path as India are beginning to come to pass in devastating fashion.

As was the case when the subcontinent became the epicentre of the pandemic in May, south-east Asia's biggest country is now facing an oxygen supply crisis that has already turned catastrophic.

Rebecca Meckelburg – Local government and civil society responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia have been widely lauded in academic and popular media since the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in March 2020.

Emma Connors, Singapore/Jakarta – Tens of thousands of new COVID-19 cases each day have forced the Indonesian government to suspend months of careful planning to reopen the economy as it struggles to deal with the crisis at hand.

Rieka Rahadiana and Arys Aditya – Indonesia will start importing oxygen cylinders to meet surging demand from Covid-19 patients as the country battles a fresh wave of infections that overwhelms its medical system.

Indonesia's new no vax, no fly policy is sending foreign nationals in Bali into a frenzy, from anti-vaxxers condemning the move, to travelers who prefer to get the COVID jab in their home countries, to those frustrated with not being able to get vaccinated even if they wanted to.

Jakarta – Indonesia set its coal benchmark price at the highest in more than a decade, an official document published by its energy and minerals ministry showed on Monday, supported by sustained demand from China.

Jakarta – Harmoko, the information minister during the New Order Era who became the public face of the Soeharto regime, passed away on Sunday. He was 82.

Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate first confirmed the news of Harmoko's passing on Sunday.

Adi Kurniawan, Jakarta – Volunteer biker Sebastian Dwiyantoro and his team have been particularly busy helping ambulances navigate heavy traffic in Depok, West Java to get COVID-19 patients to hospital as infections soar in the country.

Sania Mashabi, Jakarta – The initiator of the citizen data platform LaporCovid-19, Irma Hidayana, says that current the state of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia is because the government failed to implement effective prevention measures at the start of the pandemic.

According to Hidayana, the government often put the economy first rather than public health.

Natalia Laurensia Carmelia Yewen, Papua – It has been more than half a century since the former Dutch colony of Papua was integrated into Indonesia in a highly controversial referendum that triggered a bloody brushfire war between the Indonesian military and guerilla separatists.

Elizabeth Byrne – I can't tell you who Witness K is. Even if I knew I couldn't say without risking jail time, because as a former spy for Australia's overseas intelligence service, his identity is protected under strict security laws.

Bernadette Christina, Jakarta – Indonesia has ordered oxygen makers to prioritise medical needs amid growing demand from COVID-19 patients, the government said on Sunday, following more than 60 deaths in a hospital where supply of the life-saving gas was almost exhausted.

Justin L. Wejak – Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi of Merauke recently requested a papal visit to Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua. He believes that a papal visit can help resolve Papua's long history of violent conflict since the early 1960s when the region, arguably involuntarily, became part of Indonesia through the New York Agreement.

Jakarta – Huawei Indonesia, the local arm of the Shenzhen-based tech giant Huawei, pledged continuous support for Bandung Institute of Technology, or ITB, in technology sharing, as the university celebrated its 101st anniversary earlier this week.

Hellena Souisa and Erwin Renaldi – Before he died, Mr Suherman said his father was consumed by coronavirus misinformation and "hoax messages" circulating on text messaging apps in his hometown of Bandung, the capital of West Java, Indonesia.

Yuddy Cahya Budiman and Tabita Diela, Jakarta – The next two weeks are critical for the success of Indonesia's efforts to rein in the coronavirus, as infections could rise until Saturday's tougher curbs, affecting more than 100 million people, begin to show results, a minister said.

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – Authorities are imposing stricter mobility curbs during the latest round COVID-19 restrictions, dubbed the emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat), in an attempt to limit the spread of the disease.

Antara, Jakarta – The government has set the ceiling price for drugs used in COVID-19 treatment through the issuance of Health Minister's Decree No. HK.01.07/MENKES/4826/2021.

Abeth Ayou, Jayapura – Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) and Indonesian People's Front (FRI) for West Papua held a rally in front of the West Java gubernatorial office in Bandung on July 1 to commemorate the declaration of Independence of Papua Land, or internationally known as West Papua, on July 1, 1971.

Semarang – The police, the Indonesian military (TNI) and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officials broke up a "Week of Resistance" action held by the Greater Semarang Student Executive Council (BEM) alliance near the Youth Monument in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang on Sunday July 4.

"Starting July 6, 2021, all foreigners who travel to Indonesia must show a vaccine card [proofing them fully vaccinated] and a negative PCR result for Covid-19 befo

Jakarta – Indonesia reported 27,913 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday to continue a record-breaking run in daily numbers since the first day of the month, as lockdown in stricken areas began to take place.

Jessica Washington and Syarina Hasibuan, Jakarta – From morning until midnight, Suherman and his fellow carpenters work in the heat – sawing, sanding and painting.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The LaporCovid-19 (Report Covid-19) community and Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) reported that 265 Covid patients in self-isolation had succumbed to the disease throughout June-July 2, 2021.

Jakarta – Jentera Indonesia School of Law (STH) Student Executive Council (BEM) Chairperson Renie Aryandani says that the nickname "The King of Lip Service" alias "The King of Bragging" for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is still too polite.

Jakarta – Renowned politician Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of founding father Sukarno, passed away on Saturday after being treated for Covid-19 for a week at a Jakarta hospital. She is 70 years old.

Jakarta – The government imposed a partial lockdown Saturday in Jakarta, across the main island of Java and on Bali as Indonesia grapples with an unprecedented wave of coronavirus infections.

News Agencies, Jakarta – The next two weeks will be a "critical time" for Indonesia, which is counting on new restrictions to bring surging coronavirus cases under control, a senior minister said on Saturday.

Gemma Holliani Cahya in Jakarta – Standing outside the glass wall at one of the emergency installations in a hospital in Tangerang, Benten, Uta Verina Maukar, 26, looked at her mother as she lay resting on a bed.

Rebecca Ratcliffe and Gemma Holliani Cahya – Indonesia is tripling its oxygen supplies to hospitals as data suggests the Delta variant of coronavirus is now driving the country's worsening outbreak, accounting for more than 60% of recent cases.

Natasia Christy Wahyuni, Jakarta – The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency, or BPOM, has issued an emergency use authorization for Covid-19 vaccine developed by US drug company ModernaTX Inc., the agency's head confirmed on Friday.

The move came after the US government pledged an assistance of Covid-19 vaccine through the UN-approved global scheme Covax.

Rakhmat Nur Hakim, Jakarta – Griffith University Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman has questioned a statement by Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan who said that the government could not have predicted that there would be a surge in Covid-19 cases in June.

Robert Campion – The highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly around the globe, is fuelling an unprecedented surge of cases among the more than 270 million people in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – An epidemiologist with the Griffith University, Dicky Budiman, responded to the emergency PPKM (public activity restriction) the Indonesian government introduced to battle the surge of Covid-19 cases.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – The Health Ministry's Research and Development Agency published a study on the effectiveness of the Sinovac vaccine among health workers in Jakarta, which was conducted from January 13 to March 18, 2021.

Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency uncovered a number of improprieties in the distribution of Covid-19 assistance. the principle of caution has not been applied.

Hendartyo Hanggi, Jakarta – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati confirmed that the social cash assistance or BST program was extended by two months. The disbursement of cash aid was aimed at providing relief to people affected by the implementation of the Emergency PPKM.

Yuddy Cahya Budiman, Jakarta – General practitioner Cheras Sjarfi says the small public hospital where she works in south Jakarta was not ready for the influx of COVID-19 patients who arrived after a surge of new infections in the world's fourth-most-populous country.

Novan, Jakarta – The health ministers of Denmark and Indonesia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding five fields of health cooperation: basic health services, remote medicine and digital health; noncommunicable disease prevention and control; pharmacy and health equipment; health human resources development; and health research and development.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – The scenes in Indonesia's hospitals in the past week have been eerily similar to those in India two months ago – hospital corridors jammed with COVID-19 patients and frantic families trying to find oxygen to treat sick loved-ones.

Times of emergency may have finally spurred authorities in Bali into ditching their nice guy playbook, with foreign nationals now subject to immediate deportation should they be caught violating health protocols on the island.

Indonesia's most populated and popular islands are bracing for emergency lockdown measures from this weekend, with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo touting the inevitability of shifting policy amid soaring covid-19 cases, reports The Jakarta Post.

Lee Sue-Ann – A divisive debate has broken out in regional social media over the use of ivermectin to treat Covid-19. The focus of the debate should remain squarely on its effectiveness as a therapeutic treatment for the coronavirus.

Andreas Harsono – A recent ruling by Indonesia's Supreme Court canceled a government regulation issued in February that allowed millions of girls and women in thousands of state schools a basic freedom: to choose whether or not to wear a jilbab (Muslim apparel that covers the head, neck, and chest).

Damon Evans – East Timor could pocket just over $600 million if the Buffalo-10 exploration well, due to be drilled late October, is successful. The operator, Australia's Carnarvon Petroleum, as well as UK partner Advance Energy, said yesterday that they have secured a jack-up drilling rig for the probe at the historic Buffalo field offshore East Timor.