AmCham Update
AmCham Update Vol. 2 #93
Reopen to Foreigners in November? Registering Overseas Vaccines, Bali Now Level 3, 9.5m More Vaccines Arrive
Sep 15, 2021 | AmCham Indonesia

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Indonesia Hopes to Reopen to Foreigners in November

Indonesia plans to gradually reopen its borders to foreigners once 70 percent of the target population of 208 million have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin. Budi said the vaccination target could be achieved by November 2021, and then borders would start to reopen to foreigners. However, there are still multiple factors hampering the vaccination process here, including distribution and logistics problems, and vaccine hesitancy.

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How to Verify Your Overseas Vaccine Certificates

Now that vaccine certificates are required for entry both into Indonesia, and various public places such as malls and supermarkets, the Ministry of Health has created a website to verify the vaccination status of Indonesian nationals and foreigners who were vaccinated overseas. By verifying a person's vaccination status, their vaccination certificate will be included in the PeduliLindungi application and can be used to enter public places.

Follow these steps to get started:

  1. Sign up and apply for verification at https://vaksinln.dto.kemkes.go.id/
  2. Fill in your personal and vaccination data. Indonesian citizens will have their data verified by the Ministry of Health, while data from foreigners will be verified by their respective embassies. You will be informed of the verification results by email
  3. Register and login to the PeduliLindungi app and fill in the required data to activate your vaccination status. To receive your vaccine certificate, go to the PeduliLindungi website (https://pedulilindungi.id), pick Cek Sertifikat (Check your Certificate), and complete the required data. Once this is verified, you will be redirected to softcopies of your certificates
  4. To check in to public places, open your PeduliLindungi app and choose Scan QR code, then scan the QR code at the check-in point.

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PPKM Extended Again, Bali Now Level 3

PPKM in Java and Bali has been extended until Sept 20, in line with Ministry of Home Affairs Instruction 42/ 2021. The decision was taken after improvements in Covid-19 transmission indicators over the past week, such as new cases, bed occupancy, and death rates. The government has lowered Bali’s PPKM to level 3, in line with Jakarta.

PPKM Level 4 provisions remain unchanged from the previous regulation, while there are some relaxations in Level 3 and Level 2 areas, with cinemas now allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity. Tourist attractions are also allowed to open, but access roads to attractions must implement the odd-even (ganjil-genap) vehicle plate system on weekends, from Friday at 12.00 to Sunday at 18.00.

To prevent more imported cases, the instruction also regulates entry restrictions for international travelers to Indonesia. International passengers traveling by air are allowed to enter only through Soekarno-Hatta (Jakarta) and Sam Ratulangi (Manado City) airports; those traveling by sea are allowed through the Batam and Nunukan ports; while those traveling by land are allowed through the Aruk and Entikong cross-border posts (PLBN), both located in West Borneo Province. More detailed provisions on the restrictions will be further regulated by the Ministry of Transportation.

Related links:

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS INSTRUCTION NO. 42 OF 2021


9.5m Doses Vaccines Arrive in Indonesia

Indonesia welcomed the arrival of 9.5 million ready-to-use Covid-19 vaccine doses on Sept 12-13, bringing the total number of vaccines received to 240 million doses. Sept 12 saw the arrival of 2,296,960 vials of the Sinovac ready-to-use vaccine through the COVAX Facility under the World Health Organization (WHO). Two further deliveries arrived on Sept 13. The first, roughly 5 million doses, came in via Garuda Indonesia, while the latter was in collaboration with the COVAX Facility and comprised 2,295,680 doses.

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Covid-19 Going Down? Not So Fast

Although the positivity rate of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia has decreased by 88.9 percent over the past eight weeks, the Covid-19 Task Force (Satgas) is remaining vigilant over the possibility of a third wave. Satgas spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said that historically, Indonesia’s Covid-19 cases reached a peak when the world was transitioning between waves, and right now countries such as Malaysia and the US are entering their third wave. Wiku also reiterated the importance of maintaining health protocols as activity restrictions are loosened, noting past spikes in cases in India, Malaysia and Japan.

The emergence of the C.1.2 strain from South Africa is also raising concerns, as it is said to be more dangerous than the Delta variant. Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman said the Indonesian government must anticipate and prevent the C.1.2. strain from spreading. In a meeting with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Sept 13, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government was paying close attention to three new coronavirus variants: Lambda, Mu, and C.1.2.

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AmCham Cares: HSBC

HSBC is encouraging Indonesia's future generations through its Digital Readiness Academy in conjunction with the British Council. Through this program, which aims to build skills and capabilities toward a sustainable future, HSBC wants to help to bring technology closer to the educational landscape and improve digital literacy to enable sustainable innovations in a digital era accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

HSBC says a big thank you to all parties involved: Hugh Moffat, Country Director of the British Council Indonesia; Waris Candra from Micro:bit Educational Foundation; William Hendradjaja from Skilvul; Ibu Nahdiana from Dinas Pendidikan DKI Jakarta; and HSBC colleagues for the great collaboration to make this program successful.


Indonesia's External Debt Growth Slows

Indonesia's external debt growth was $415.7 billion at the end of July 2021, growing by 1.7 percent year-on-year (YoY), compared to 2.0 percent (YoY) in June. This was largely caused by the slowing increase of the government's external debt at $205.9 billion, which grew at 3.5 percent (YoY) compared to 4.3 percent (YoY) in June.

The private sector's external debt growth grew slightly compared to the previous month. Private external debt growth in July remained modest at 0.1 percent (YoY), following a 0.2 percent (YoY) decrease the previous month. This was due to nonfinancial business foreign debt growing by 1.5 percent (YoY), compared to 1.7 percent (YoY) in June.

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Jokowi to Head to Italy for G20 Presidency Handover

President Joko Widodo will visit Italy at the end of October for the handover of the G20 presidency to Indonesia. While holding the G20 presidency, Indonesia will host G20 activities over the next year. Coordinating Ministry of Economy Airlangga Hartarto said Indonesia will assume the theme of “Recover Together, Recover Stronger” in its presidency, to drive global post-pandemic economic recovery. President Joko previously issued Presidential Decree 12/2021, which stipulates the creation of a national organizing committee for next year’s G20 Summit.

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Support Independent Journalism: Subscribe to The Jakarta Post

In these difficult times, our hometown English language newspaper, The Jakarta Post, is more important than ever. Given the difficulties of physical circulation and the economic slump, the Post needs to boost its online subscribers – a goal we heartily support at AmCham Indonesia. Quality English language news is vital for our businesses, our home offices, and the flow of information out of Indonesia. It is for this reason, that we are urging all of our members and readers to subscribe to JP! Information is what will help get us through this crisis. Below is information about how to sign up.

JP Premium Digital Subscription Packages

https://www.thejakartapost.com/packages

Monthly subscription – Rp 50,000

Yearly subscription – Rp 600,000


Now is the Time to Join AmCham!

Now is the Time to Join AmCham!

We offer a full slate of meetings, events, and information for our community online. But we can only do this through the support of our members. If you are not yet an AmCham member, please join now.

AmCham Indonesia is open to all companies with an interest in US business relations and we have many non-American members. We are a community and we welcome you!

Reach us at [email protected] or click below!

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AmCham Office and Events

AmCham Office and Events

The AmCham Office is on the work-from-home status and all face-to-face meetings and events have been postponed. We are having a number of meetings online using the Zoom platform. You will be notified of virtual meetings as they are scheduled.

 

 


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What is Your Company Doing on COVID-19?

Please let us know what measures your company may be taking in the form of donations and other assistance to help Indonesia during this time of confusion and concern. Contact [email protected] with your news. We would like to publicize the ways that our AmCham companies are pitching in.


Stay well

We urge you to send us press releases and other information that we can pass on to the broader AmCham community. If you have items of interest, please email material to [email protected]. Follow this link to information provided by the US Embassy

Stay safe, call a doctor if you have a high fever, cough, or difficulty breathing. Stay healthy above all else.


AmCham Update is AmCham's regular newsletter on developments related to the pandemic crisis and other issues in Indonesia. It is edited by AmCham Managing Director A Lin Neumann and written by the AmCham Staff. Paul L Goddard is the Managing Editor

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