Categories: Letters to the Editor, OpinionChurch, not 1960s, to blame for abusesSometimes I can’t tell what rhetoric is more bizarre — what comes out of the White House or the Vatican. The Daily Gazette April 12 article claims the sexual revolution of the 1960’s is the reason for the sexual abuse problems in the Catholic Church. Perhaps Pope-Emeritus Benedict has been hidden away too long in the Vatican glued to his television watching the Flip Wilson Show, “The Devil Made Me Do It.”His 6000-word letter has once again placed the blame for the sexual abuse problems in the Catholic Church on someone other than the priests and clergy that perpetrated the problem in the first place then covered it up.Now we have to listen to this no-longer-relevant pope bring a fresh set of “Pretzel Logic” to the unresolved situation of sex abuse in the church. Talk about a farfetched reason for the problem. Perhaps the sexual revolution of the 60’s was relevant to some, but it certainly did not happen to the priests within the church, or did it? Where he got the notion of showing sex films on airplanes and therefore potentially causing a riot is a new one on me, unless he showed them on his private jet and saw it firsthand.This would be the same as ex-presidents coming out and condemning everything Donald Trump does as though they were still in office and have the power to influence him. They don’t. And Benedict should realize that he is no longer relevant, since he abdicated. Keep watching Flip Wilson.Bob BeliveGlenville Town board must listen to residentsOn April 11, the Greenfield Town Board conducted a public hearing regarding the revised Code of Ethics legislation. Many residents shared their ideas and concerns with the proposed legislation. Immedietly after the public hearing was closed, the Town Board voted to pass its version into law without any discussion or thought of the many well-informed concerns raised by the public. We witnessed the town board members listening to the public only as they were required to do and that is all. In other words, it was a sham. Greenfield needs a change from this negligence to serve the public. Church abandoned St. Clare’s workersI think it’s unconscionable that the Catholic Church Albany Diocese, the Ellis Foundation and our local politicians cannot stand by the employees of St. Clare’s and back their pension fund that they worked and contributed to all the years they worked.If the Catholic Church can ask for weekly support and also the Bishop’s Appeal annually, I think it should be able to compensate its own at St. Clare’s.A huge tract of land on Route 7 was given away. Yet the church can turn around and have no conscience about the workers who served it loyally.It’s time the workers had a union that would stand behind the employees and never let this happen. Where were all the so called lawyers when this happened?Cecilia McFaddenNiskayunaMore from The Daily Gazette:Cuomo calls for clarity on administering vaccineEDITORIAL: Find a way to get family members into nursing homesFoss: Should main downtown branch of the Schenectady County Public Library reopen?Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s press conference for Sunday, Oct. 18EDITORIAL: Urgent: Today is the last day to complete the census The public has no confidence in this kind of government that is trying to control the people rather than listen to them.Marian O’KeefeSaratoga Springs
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At least six students were killed and dozens others went missing after a flash flood reportedly swept away more than 250 students who were trekking on the banks of the Sembor River in Donokerto village in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Friday, the nation’s disaster mitigation agency has said.National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Agus Wibowo said the victims were seventh and eighth graders of Turi 1 junior high school taking part in scouting activities. As many as 257 student participants went on the trek despite the weather conditions.“When the students were alongside the river, a sudden flood with torrential currents occurred and swept away the students. At the moment, a joint team involving a search and rescue team and the Sleman Police is still searching for the victims,” Agus said. The local disaster mitigation agency and military personnel are also assisting in the emergency rescue.The situation was still developing and the final number of students affected by the incident had yet to be finalized, Agus said.Topics :
As of Tuesday, the Health Ministry confirmed nine Indonesian crew members on the Diamond Princess had tested positive for COVID-19. Five of them had been taken to hospitals for observation, while the remaining four were still on board the ship.“Nine of them only have a fever. To me, they are being well cared for and not in bad condition.”The minister claimed that the possibility that those deemed healthy could become was around 20 percent; meaning that 12 people were at risk of carrying the coronavirus into the archipelago if the government took at least 60 people home.“That’s why we need special methods and negotiations with Japan to make an appropriate decision. If we rush the process, we could emulate what happened in the United States, Korea and Australia, creating a new epicenter,” he added.Read also: 13 US citizens at ‘high risk’ of coronavirus being treated in NebraskaCoordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said the government was still negotiating with the Japanese government regarding the evacuations. He went on to say that several pickup options had been submitted to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.“The President should weigh and consider this with great care, not carelessly and not gratuitously because the fate of 264 million Indonesians depends on it,” Muhadjir said.The government was not able to evacuate people from the cruise ships as it did in Wuhan– the epicenter of COVID-19 –because, Muhadjir argued, the Wuhan evacuations had a different set of conditions with a lack of infected Indonesian citizens.“Everyone was still clean. […] Meanwhile, nine [tested positive for COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess]. That’s why we consider the Diamond Princess an epicenter, while Dream World has not reached that level yet,” he said.Japanese authorities quarantined Diamond Princess and its 3,711 passengers and crew for two weeks from Feb. 5. By the time the quarantine was over 14 days later, 634 of those aboard had tested positive for COVID-19.The crew members have expressed their hope that the government will airlift them from the Diamond Princess for fear of getting infected, saying that the evacuation of their coworkers from the United States, Canada, South Korea and several European countries was to take place soon.Editor’s note: The earlier version of the article mentioned the World Dream cruise ship is currently in Hong Kong. We have corrected the ship’s current position. We apologize for the mistake.Topics : The government is apparently in no rush to evacuate 69 Indonesian crew members from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan who are reported healthy, arguing they might cause “a new epicenter” after nine others on the cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19.Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said the government would take one step at a time and prioritize citizens on the World Dream cruise ship who were “in a more threatening position” than those on the Diamond Princess.According to World Dream operator Dream Cruises, the cruise ship is currently in international waters close to Bintan Island in Riau Islands. “Those on World Dream were rejected everywhere. We, the government, must pay attention to those rejected. What will happen if they run out of logistics and so on? They are clearly in a more threatening position,” Terawan told journalists at the State Palace on Tuesday.He added that Indonesian citizens aboard the British-American-owned Diamond Princess had been receiving proper care from the Japanese government and were being supplied sufficient logistics.“Any suspect carrier will be taken to the hospital and receive treatment according to Japanese standards, which means good standards,” he said.Read also: Number of Indonesians with coronavirus on Diamond Princess rises to nine
Dr. Moewardi General Hospital in Surakarta, Central Java is offering free COVID-19 screening to the public at its newly installed testing booth in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, which is becoming more and more worrying in Indonesia.Located in Jebres district, the hospital, among 13 referral hospitals handling COVID-19 patients in Central Java, has been providing the 24-hour screening service since Monday.The test involves a body temperature check and questioning to determine whether someone has developed fever and cough symptoms, as well as if they have been in contact with a COVID-19 patient. If the person has developed symptoms, the hospital will offer a blood test.The COVID-19 testing booth, which operates at the first floor of the Nusa Indah Building inside the hospital’s complex, had served 235 people as of Wednesday noon, according to the hospital’s spokesperson, Eko Haryati.”Moewardi hospital has set up [the testing booth] as a measure to prevent the coronavirus from spreading any further,” Haryati told The Jakarta Post by phone on Wednesday. “We hope there are no more infections.”Read also: Think you have COVID-19? Here’s how to get tested in IndonesiaMoewardi hospital and 131 other hospitals nationwide are listed as referral centers to handle COVID-19 patients in Indonesia. The Surakarta Mental Health Hospital, also in Jebres district, is also providing a similar screening service in accordance with Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo’s instruction.The coronavirus, which was first discovered last December in Wuhan of Hubei province in China, has spread at a worrying pace in Indonesia since the first cases were reported in the country.President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced Indonesia’s first two confirmed COVID-19 cases on March 2. On March 14, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi was tested positive for COVID-19.Indonesia’s death toll from the the disease jumped to 19 on Wednesday, the highest in Southeast Asia to date, as the government announced that the number of infected people had reached 227.The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the global tally of COVID-19 positive infections rose to 179,111 confirmed cases with 7,426 deaths as of Tuesday.Moewardi hospital will advise anyone whose screening test result shows a potential health problem to take a lab test and a radiology exam for free. If the lab test and radiology exam results show indicators of COVID-19, the hospital will put that person under surveillance. Indicators include having a fever above 38 degrees Celsius, respiratory infection, light pneumonia, a history of travel to virus-hit countries or interaction with someone who is COVID-19 positive in the last 14 days. If the patient exhibits any of these indicators, they will be hospitalized and put in an isolation room for further treatment.Read also: ‘It was too crowded’: Patients find it hard to get COVID-19 tests, treatmentThose with normal test results are allowed to go home — they will not even be monitored by the hospital.Moewardi hospital would keep the emergency unit in operation until the COVID-19 situation in the country passed, Haryati added. As Indonesia is expecting the confirmed cases to peak in the coming days, the hospital is preparing enough rooms to mitigate a sudden and massive influx of patients.”The [Surakarta] mayor has declared an extraordinary situation, so Moewardi hospital has prepared for possible overcrowding,” said Haryati. (dfr) Topics :
A video showing a family uncovering the shroud of a deceased woman suspected to have been COVID-19-positive in Kolaka regency, Southeast Sulawesi went viral over social media.The video, uploaded by several users onto Twitter, showed a family carrying the body of the dead patient into a house and later unwrapping the plastic from around it.Kompas.com reported that the patient, a 34-year-old female, died in an isolation ward at Bahteramas General Hospital in Kendari on Monday. She had been under surveillance for COVID-19. Bahteramas Hospital’s acting head, Sjarif Subijakto, said the deceased woman had suffered from acute pneumonia. He said her family refused to allow an ambulance to take the body away in a casket. They later took it by themselves in their own car.Rabiul Awal, the spokesperson of the Southeast Sulawesi task force for COVID-19, said he regretted the family’s disobedience of the burial procedures for deceased COVID-19 patients as mandated by the World Health Organization, although the dead patient was still only suspected to have had the disease. Read also: Alone on their deathbed, how COVID-19 keeps families away from loved ones“The hospital had initially wrapped the body with plastic, but the family uncovered it,” Rabiul said as quoted by kompas.com. “The patient had been treated under COVID-19 standards. Only medical personnel were allowed to bathe the body while wearing protective gear.”He said such a situation occurred because of a lack of understanding of the proper protocols for handling deceased people suspected to have had COVID-19.The dead body possessed a high risk of spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus if she eventually tested positive for the disease, the spokesperson said. Therefore, family and other mourners of deceased people suspected to have had COVID-19 were put on the lists of people under surveillance, requiring them to self-isolate at home.Rabiul also asked the public to refrain from speculating about the patient’s status while awaiting her test results. “We sent her samples to Jakarta on Tuesday. It takes three to five days until the results show up.” (dpk)Topics :
His statement is reflected in the findings of How COVID-19 is impacting food and drink markets in Southeast Asia, a recent report from global market research firm Mintel. The study has found that many consumers are turning into traditional remedies to boost their immune system amid the pandemic.According to the report, many Indonesians are stocking up on jamu as well as the herbs and spices used to make jamu, which has caused the prices of herbs like red ginger and temulawak (Javanese ginger) to increase.Sido Muncul CFO Leonard said that the company was still of the view that its herbal medicines line would remain the main contributor to sales this year, despite its assumption of a decline in overall sales as a result of potential decline in consumer buying power due to the outbreak.“We will still try to maintain the availability of our health products that can help boost consumers’ immune system to meet demand in the Indonesian market,” he said.Indonesia has over three-quarters of the more than 40,000 medicinal plants in the world according to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), and is an untapped source of the global market for herbal medicines.Read also: Jamu-groups-oppose-House-decision-to-import-ingredients-for-COVID-19-cureIn 2018, the country had 1,247 jamu producers, of which 129 were large manufacturers using modern technology. The remaining 1,118 producers were micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the majority of which used traditional jamu production methods.The segment employed up to 15 million workers, comprising 3 million workers in the jamu and traditional medicine segment, and the remaining 12 million workers employed in related sectors and markets that used jamu products, such as the food and beverage and cosmetics industries, as well as the spa services and aromatherapy markets.Market observer Charles Saerang said that jamu producing SMEs were benefiting the most during the public health crisis.“I believe there has been a huge impact on the [jamu] SMEs. Right now, young people who are concerned about their health due to COVID-19 are realizing the benefits of lemongrass, curcuma, turmeric, [and this has] greatly impacted the SMEs,” he said. Charles added that jamu producing SMEs were ahead in innovating jamu, as they were more flexible in terms of product modification compared to bigger, established companies. He was also confident that the jamu market would continue to develop over the long term.“Jamu culture can transform and penetrate the pharmaceutical [industry], and through restaurants to become part of the food and beverages industry,” he said.Jony Yuwono, the 36-year-old owner of Acaraki Jamu in Jakarta, said that the specialty cafe saw a 20 percent surge in sales at the beginning of the outbreak, serving over 100 cups of jamu per day. However, he had to temporarily close both Acaraki cafes in Kemang and Kota Tua to comply with the government’s social distancing policy, so the company was now entirely dependent on takeaways and online orders.The jamu cafe, which also sells packages of ground turmeric and other herbal ingredients, serves its customers unique products that are blended and brewed using coffee-making equipment like the Hario V60 coffee maker, French presses and AeroPress.“I think the future of jamu in Indonesia after the pandemic will be even brighter than before, as people have become more aware of their health because of it,” said Jony, who hoped that the jamu consumption trend would emerge as the new normal after the crisis.Business research and consultancy Inventure Indonesia even dubbed jamu as “the new espresso” in its report on shifts in consumer behavior as an impact of COVID-19, with managing partner Yuswohady predicting that the jamu consumption trend would shift from mere functional food to lifestyle.–Yunindita Prasidya contributed to this story.Topics : As the COVID-19 pandemic changes the global business landscape, jamu (herbal medicine) producers are playing a growing role in the Indonesian economy.National jamu sales in 2019 generated Rp 21.5 trillion (US$1.38 billion) in revenue, up 13.1 percent from Rp 19 trillion in 2018, according to the Indonesian Jamu and Traditional Medicine Producers Group (GP-Jamu).While this year’s figure remains indeterminable due to the outbreak’s impacts on logistics and consumer buying power, the available figures and reports indicate a promising future for the herbal medicine market. Even amid the economic downturn due to the government’s COVID-19 emergency measures, the first quarter of 2020 saw the jamu and herbal supplements segment contribute more than 68 percent of its Rp 730.72 billion sales revenue, a year-on-year (yoy) increase of 2.4 percent. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s herbal medicine giant Sido Muncul saw its profit jump 10.85 percent yoy to Rp 231.53 billion in January-March.“I think demand has increased because people want to stay healthy during the pandemic, and the profit surge is quite large,” Sido Muncul director Irwan Hidayat, whose family owns majority shares in the company, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.Irwan also estimated a 30 percent surge in demand this year, with customers flocking to buy jamu containing plants from the curcuma genus, such as turmeric and ginger. With this promising outlook, he estimated a 10 percent increase in both sales and profit by the end of the year.
Some 50,000 more test kits will be made by June after the equipment passes the validation test through public use.The Bogor Institute of Technology in West Java also aims to produce 10,000 gen spike and nucleocapsid rapid detection kits and codevelop 100 prototypes of biosensory-based rapid detection kits with Bandung-based Padjadjaran University by July.Bambang previously acknowledged that rapid testing kits would be less accurate than PCR tests considered by experts to be the “gold standard” for coronavirus detection. However, he said the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) was currently in the process of developing more accurate test kits using the reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method.Read also: Antibody tests key to ending COVID-19 lockdowns As demand for medical devices and innovation grows in virus-hit Indonesia, the Research and Technology Ministry’s consortium for COVID-19 studies has pushed for the development of domestically produced medical equipment, ranging from test kits to robot assistants, to boost the country’s battle against the pandemic. The consortium, comprising research institutes, universities, private companies and state-owned enterprises, has developed rapid diagnostic test kits to detect SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — amid shortages of reagents used in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, Research and Technology Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said.Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, and medical equipment manufacturer PT Hepatika are set to produce 10,000 synthetic peptide-based Immunoglobulin G and Immunoglobulin M (IgG and IgM) antibodies rapid detection kits by Friday. The LIPI-developed rapid testing kits are expected to be ready in July, Bambang said during a work meeting with the House of Representatives on Tuesday.”The advantage of this rapid test is it is equally as sensitive to PCR tests and can produce results in about one hour, [faster than PCR],” he said adding that the method did not use PCR reagents.Meanwhile, state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma, genome firm Nusantics, Indonesian International Institute for Life Sciences (I3L), Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology and the Health Ministry’s Research and Development Agency (Balitbangkes) are set to produce 50,000 PCR test kits by the end of May, with 10 boxes currently being validated and registered.The consortium also developed domestic-made Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and emergency ventilators involving 28 developers, including the University of Indonesia (UI), automotive holding Dharma group and the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), to meet the Health Ministry’s demand.The ventilators are expected to enter the mass production on May 12.Read also: Eijkman Institute finishes sequencing Indonesian coronavirus strainThe BPPT has also introduced mobile Biosafety Level-2 (BSL-2) laboratories made inside a repurposed 6-meter container connected to a truck. Set to be launched on May 20, the laboratory will be able to conduct drive-thru testing and test up to 260 samples a day.Furthermore, a joint team from Surabaya-based November 10 Institute of Technology (ITS) and Airlangga University Hospital (RSUA) developed a robotic assistant for medical staff called RAISA, which is expected to also reduce physical interaction between healthcare workers and patients.RAISA, which stands for Robot medical Assistant ITS-Airlangga, could be utilized to remotely deliver food, clothes and medicine for patients in isolation, Bambang said.The consortium is currently conducting studies to look for raw materials that could be domestically sourced to produce personal protective equipment as well as to search for local herbs that could function as immune-boosting supplements.Additionally, the consortium will participate in global research efforts for finding a COVID-19 cure and vaccine, as well as develop plasma, serum and stem cell therapy.As of Tuesday, Indonesia has recorded 12,071 positive cases of COVID-19 with 872 fatalities and 2,197 recoveries.Topics :
Japan’s government said on Tuesday it has approved saliva-based tests for the new coronavirus, offering a safer, simpler way to diagnose infection as well as boosting the number of tests being carried out using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology.Currently, nasal swabs are the main source for PCR tests in Japan. Coughs and sneezes at the time of collecting samples can expose medical workers to the risk of potential infection, making it necessary for them to wear full protective gear when taking samples.The saliva-based PCR tests can be given to those who have had symptoms for up to nine days, Japan’s health ministry said. It wasn’t immediately clear how much the change would boost overall testing capacity. Topics : “This will vastly reduce burdens on patients as well as burdens that come with infection-prevention steps on the part of sample-collecting institutions,” Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters, outlining the change.Japan falls far behind other industrialized nations in terms of the number of coronavirus tests. Critics say the low rate of testing has made it difficult to trace the virus, which has led to a series of in-hospital infection clusters.As of May 20, Japan conducted 3.4 tests per 1,000 people, far below Italy’s 52.5 and 39 in the United States, according to Oxford University data. South Korea has carried out tests on 15 people per 1,000 people.Japan has escaped an explosive outbreak, with nearly 17,000 infections and 898 deaths so far, according to NHK public broadcaster. But the epidemic has tipped the world’s third-biggest economy into recession and sent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s popularity to multi-year lows. 
KSPSI president Andi Gani Nena Wea said some of the unions wanted the labor cluster of the bill to be discussed again from scratch as the initial drafting did not involve labor unions.“The government initially wanted to discuss the existing draft, but [the labor unions] want to start from scratch,” Andi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.Read also: Indonesia delays deliberations over labor issues in omnibus bill amid backlashFollowing mounting pressure from labor groups, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and House of Representatives speaker Puan Maharani announced on April 29 that the deliberation for the labor cluster of the omnibus bill would be postponed. However, the House would still continue to deliberate the other 10 clusters on the bill, which range from the simplification of permits to economic zones. While the government had yet to fulfill the demands, Andi said Airlangga had ordered the Manpower Ministry to form a technical team. The government would soon make an announcement about the formation of the team, he added.Additionally, the labor groups expected the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) to also take part in the team to represent the business side of deliberation.Read also: Guide to omnibus bill on job creation: 1,028 pages in 10 minutesMahfud said in a statement that the government appreciated the labor unions’ input, which would be used to complement previous deliberations of the bill.“We received a variety of good input and we appreciate it all. This input will enrich the discussions on the omnibus bill on job creation,” he added.Apindo chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said that, while the employers association did not receive a request regarding the team, Apindo and Kadin were set to take part in the bill’s deliberation along with other parties. Topics : Labor unions have demanded the government to form a technical team with fair representation for workers, in addition to government and business associations, to discuss the labor cluster of the controversial omnibus bill on job creation.The labor unions filed their demands for the team in a meeting on Wednesday evening attended by Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartanto, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD and other government officials.Some of the 12 labor unions that attended, including the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and the All-Indonesia Workers Union Confederation (KSPSI), expressed hope that the team could assess and discuss vexed articles in the bill from both a labor and business perspective.