Corona Virus Update #95 December 29, 2021

Cumulative number of reported cases: 4,258,752 (as of December 29)

  • Deaths: 144,071
  • Recoveries: 4,113,472
  • Fatality rate: 3.3%

Rupiah to US: 14,265
Jakarta Stock Exchange Index: 6609
Reserves (US$ Billions): $145.858 (November 30)

Overview- 68 Omicron Cases in Indonesia

The total number of Omicron variant cases in Indonesia has increased to 68 as of Wednesday. according to the latest data from the Health Ministry. All the new cases involved travelers aged between 21 and 58 who just returned from foreign countries, including nine from Turkey, three from Japan, and one each from South Korea and Saudi Arabia, Health Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said. All are quarantining for 10 days. 21 new patients, 9 showed mild symptoms and 12 had no symptoms.

Nationwide detections remain low with the seven day moving average through December 23 at 190.

The government announced that it is considering several locally made experimental COVID vaccines as boosters.

Travel-

Updated Travel Restrictions for Airplane Passengers Traveling within Indonesia during PPKM

These restrictions apply to flights between airports on the island of Java, flights from/or to airports on the island of Java, and flights from/or to airports on the island of Bali.

·     The documents below are required and to be presented (digital copies available using PeduliLindungi App for Indonesian citizens) during check-in at airports:

·     Vaccine certificate/card, minimum of first dose.

·     Certificate or letter of negative RT-PCR results whose samples were taken within a maximum period of 2×24 hours before the departure.

·     Indonesia Health Alert Card (e-HAC) for all passengers (Indonesians and non-Indonesians)

Indonesia Travel Restriction Details can be found here.

Economic-

·     Toll Road Investment: Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has invited US investors to invest in the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road. “When the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, came, I told him, if you are serious about helping, help (build the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road),” the minister said.

·     High Tax Revenues: The Finance Ministry has exceeded its yearly tax collection target for the first time in 12 years amid recovering business activity and high commodity prices, although the target is lower than in preceding years. The ministry announced on Monday that tax collection had reached Rp 1.23 quadrillion (US$86.59 billion) as of Dec. 26, which is 0.2 percent higher than the full-year target of Rp 1.22 quadrillion set out in the 2021 state budget.

·     Business Optimism: The survey results published in the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) show that 87 percent of business owners in Indonesia expect their revenue to increase in the next 12 months. That suggests Indonesian businesspeople are more optimistic than their peers in all of the other 28 countries assessed in the survey. In Vietnam, 82 percent of business owners foresaw rising revenue next year, while 80 percent expressed that view in India.

·     4th Quarter Growth at 5%: Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati noted that the government’s fiscal deficit through the end of November was only 61% of what had been expected for the full year, equivalent to 3.6% of GDP. Very respectable numbers.  She also indicated that fourth quarter growth would probably exceed 5%, bringing 2021 GDP to 3.7%. Her risks: omicron, Federal Reserving “tapering”, and less growth in China.

Foreign Affairs-

Bubble Protocols for G20 Win Acclaim: Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan highlighted that the bubble health protocol implementation in Indonesia during the sherpa and finance tracks of the G20 Presidency drew applause from several countries.

“I received a report that our bubble health protocols in G20 were very well-liked by various countries,” Pandjaitan stated during an online press conference on Monday.

The bubble protocol is a limitation on the mobility and interaction of participants and event organizers to not leave the event location in an effort to minimize contact with outside parties. The bubble protocol is currently often used during face-to-face events in various parts of the world to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Online G20 meetings are already occurring at the Ministerial level. The heads of state G20 meetings will take place October 30-31 in Bali.

(sources: International and Indonesia news media, Bali Update (from balidiscovery.com), Reformasi Weekly, US Embassy website)