Corona Virus Update #96 January 3, 2022

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- 3 Locally Transmitted 96Omicron Cases

Indonesia added 383 new cases and only 17 deaths since last week’s memo, evidence of the success of its containment strategy.

According to the government’s news service, Antara, on Sunday (January 2, 2021), the total number of Omicron cases in Indonesia reached 138, comprising 135 imported cases and three local transmissions.

Indonesia has now provided 200 million “jabs”, reaching 90-100% of the target population in Jakarta and Bali. Nationally only 54.7% have received 2 jabs, falling short of President Jokowi’s 2021 goal of 70%. Health officials in several regions, including Central Java, have been urged by their governors to accelerate their efforts before vaccines expire at the end of January.

Indonesia will begin giving COVID-19 booster shots to the general public from January 12, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Monday, as the Omicron variant spreads in the country.

 

Travel- Quarantines Shortened

After assessing that the omicron variant of COVID 19 has a relatively shorter incubation period, Indonesia shortened the required quarantine for international travelers. As per the latest policy, the quarantine period for those returning from countries with high Omicron cases has been shortened to 10 days from 14 days. For travelers returning from other countries (including the US), the quarantine period has been shortened to 7 days from 10 days.

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-

·     Indonesia Emerges From Recession: Indonesia’s economy is officially out of recession. In the first, second, and third quarters of 2021, economic growth was recorded at -0.74%, 7.07%, and 3.5%, respectively. Although Q4 rates are not available they are predicted to be around 5%. The 7.07% was the highest GDP growth in the last 17 years. Indonesia’s economy had previously contracted for four consecutive quarters.

·     Year- End Inflation Below BI Target: The full-year inflation figure of 1.87% remained lower than BI’s target range of between 2-4%, however, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported on Monday that the consumer price index (CPI) was up 1.87 percent year-on-year (yoy) in December 2021 — the highest seen since July 2020.

·     Indonesia Bans Coal Exports: Indonesia, the world’s biggest exporter of coal used in electricity generation, on Saturday said it has banned January exports of the fuel in a move aimed at safeguarding its domestic power supply. The government has prohibited coal exports, citing worries that insufficient supply at domestic power plants could result in widespread blackouts, a senior energy ministry official said. Indonesia relied on fossil fuel for its power generation, with around 60 percent of its power plants drawing energy from coal. To ensure domestic supply, the country imposes a domestic market obligation (DMO) policy. It requires coal miners to supply 25 percent of annual production to state-owned utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) at a maximum price of $70 per metric ton, around half of the current global market price. The policy seeks to maintain a 20-day coal supply for local power plants, or around 5.1 metric tons. But, as of Jan 1, local coal miners only meet less than 1 percent of the required supply. Arsjad Rasjid, the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said the chamber supported government policy for ensuring national electricity supply. But, he regretted how the sweeping ban was implemented unilaterally and hastily that could put Indonesia’s economic recovery and investment climate in jeopardy.

 

Foreign Affairs-

Indonesia Seeks to Ratify The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

Indonesia will likely ratify its membership of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) early this year. The China-backed RCEP, the world’s biggest trade bloc, is set to enter into force on Saturday, January 1, 2022, after seven nations in Southeast Asia, as well as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea ratified the pact earlier this year. Indonesia has been seeking parliamentary approval to ratify the agreement for months. Chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said a parliamentary commission overseeing trade rules had approved the ratification and its endorsement will be brought to a wider parliamentary vote in the first quarter of 2022. Indonesia will likely book a trade deficit with members of RCEP in the early period of its implementation, but by 2040, the pact could boost Jakarta’s trade surplus to $979.3m, Airlangga said. It will also increase the country’s GDP growth by 0.07 percentage points and raise exports and imports by $5bn and $4bn respectively.

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