Corona Virus Update #80    September 13, 2021

Cumulative number of reported cases: 4,170,088 (as of September 13)

  • Deaths: 139,165
  • Recovered: 3,931,227
  • Fatality rate: 3.3%

 

Rupiah to US: 14,260
Jakarta Stock Exchange Index: 6088
Reserves (US$ Billions): $144.784 (August 31)

Overview- More Declines, Positivity Falls Below 5%

Nationwide case detections for COVID declined 32% from a week ago and the percentage of those testing positivefor COVID fell below 5% for the first time. The nationwide bed occupancy is currently 19% and daily vaccinations nationwide are up 100,00 from last week.

All provinces are below their July peak. Nationwide the decline is 87%, 97% in Jakarta.

·     Sharp declines: West Java, Banten, East Java, most provinces in Sumatra, Moluccas provinces.

·     More gradual downward trend: Yogyakarta, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, provinces of Kalimantan, most of Sulawesi

·     Only modest declines: Aceh, Bangka Belitung, Papua

·     Plateau below July but close to earlier peak:  East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, West Papua, Central Java

Mu Variant: President Jokowi, in speaking at a recent Cabinet meeting, signaled the Mu variant as an emerging threat to the progress to date. Mu is thought to be a less infectious and transmissible form of COVID but one that may have a greater resistance to antibodies and existing vaccines. A COVID Task Force spokesperson signaled that Indonesia would maintain its 8-day quarantine for returning travelers as it monitored the new variant, which has not yet been detected in Indonesia.

Positivity Rate Below 5%:  Indonesia’s daily coronavirus positivity rate dropped below the World Health Organization’s (WHO) benchmark standard of 5% this week for the first time, an indicator the country’s devastating second wave could be easing. The positivity rate, or the proportion of people tested who are positive, peaked at 33.4% in July when Indonesia became Asia’s coronavirus epicenter, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant. (Reuters)

 

Travel-

Borders remained closed to foreign business and tourist travel. Only foreign nationals who are diplomats, holders of temporary or permanent resident cards, cabin crews and those engaged in medical and humanitarian purposes can currently enter Indonesia. US State Department lists Indonesia as Level 4, Do Not Travel.

The government extended the enforcement period of the emergency state of public mobility restrictions, known as the PPKM Level 2-4, throughout Java and Bali until September 20, 2021.

Indonesia Travel Restriction Details can be found here.

Visit Indonesian Immigration (https://www.imigrasi.go.id) and the Indonesian Embassy (https://kemlu.go.id/washington/en) for updated visa and entry requirements as regulations may change frequently

Economic

·     Reducing Bank Branches: Indonesia is projected to lead a significant reduction of bank branches in Southeast Asia (SEA) over the coming 10 years as customers shift from physical to digital banking services, according to Roland Berger. The Munich-based management consultancy estimates that the number of bank branches in SEA will shrink by 18 percent in the next decade. That figure is equivalent to some 11,000 branches being shut in the region, with almost 7,000 located in Indonesia. Thailand and Malaysia will follow Indonesia, while Singapore and Brunei have already seen such a trend since 2010. By contrast, the number of branches is expected to continue growing in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar given the underdeveloped banking sector in those countries. (Jakarta Post)

·     Consumer Confidence Still Pessimistic: – Indonesia’s consumer confidence index fell further in August to 77.3, compared with 80.2 in the previous month, as consumers’ perception of the economy weakened, despite some relaxation of COVID-19 curbs, a central bank survey showed on Wednesday. A reading below 100 indicates pessimism.

·     NY-based Foot Locker Enters Indonesia: Sports and leisure retailer PT Map Aktif Adiperkasa (MAP Active), which trades on the Indonesia Stock Exchange as MAPA, has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with New York-based Foot Locker to open the brand’s first stores in Indonesia. Foot Locker announced on Friday that it planned to open two shops and a local webstore in Indonesia in the fourth quarter of this year and more stores in 2022. Entering the Indonesian market was part of the company’s plan to expand its Southeast Asian operations.

 

Foreign Affairs

Norway and Indonesia Part Ways on the Environment: Indonesia and Norway are at odds over which country is responsible for the collapse of an agreement to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation. Indonesia ended the decade-long pact on Friday, citing Norway’s failure to pay US$56 million in grant money, but Norwegian officials indicated that the country had been willing to pay. The funds were part of a $1 billion grant promised by Norway under the REDD+ scheme if Indonesia was able to limit its emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The agreement with Norway was signature achievement of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

 

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