The social media giant Facebook on Wednesday, announced an investment of USD 5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore) to buy a 10 per cent stake in the Reliance Industries’ telecom arm Jio, as the company looks to expand presence in India, the largest market in terms of subscriber base and  the second largest internet market after China. Company said that the investment “underscores our commitment to India, and our excitement for the dramatic transformation that Jio has spurred in the country”.

This is largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Indian technology sector and also the largest investment by a tech company to buy minority stake globally. Today’s early trading showed a surge in the price of shares of RIL  by 8 per cent after Facebook announced its investment plans.

Facebook already has 400-plus million highly popular Whatsapp chat users in India and the social media firm looks to leverage it to offer digital payment services. Having a local partner could help it in navigating various regulatory issues, including those related to privacy and local storage.

Facebook in an official statement said, “Today we are announcing a USD 5.7 billion, or Rs 43,574 crore, investment in Jio Platforms Ltd, part of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), making Facebook its largest minority shareholder.”

“This investment by Facebook values Jio Platforms at Rs 4.62 lakh crore ($65.95 billion) pre-money enterprise value, agreed at a conversion rate of Rs 70 to a US Dollar. Facebook’s investment will translate into a 9.99% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis,” RIL said.

“Facebook’s investment will translate into a 9.99 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis,” it added.

Facebook said the investment “underscores our commitment to India, and our excitement for the dramatic transformation that Jio has spurred in the country”.

“In less than four years, Jio has brought more than 388 million people online, fueling the creation of innovative new enterprises and connecting people in new ways. We are committed to connecting more people in India together with Jio,” it added.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Jio Platforms  houses digital services of the group led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, with 388 million subscribers, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms.

The Facebook deal is part of value unlocking by RIL to cut debt. RIL has been seeking strategic partnerships across its businesses while targeting to deleverage its balance sheet.

The group has also been in talks with Saudi Aramco for sale of a 20 per cent stake in its oil-to-chemical business for an asking of USD 15 billion. RIL has already tied up with BP Plc for fuel business as it targets to have a debt-free status by next year.

Jio had also been reportedly talking separately to Google but the fate of those discussions is not known.

Also, having a good telecom partner could help Facebook improve its reach to masses.

RIL could leverage on Facebook’s technology expertise and talent pool as well as help in its ambitions to make Jio a digital company. This apart, the deal would aid the company achieving zero debt status by March 2021.

Since launching Jio in 2016, RIL has emerged as the only Indian company capable of competing with US tech groups in the fast-growing Indian market, expanding from mobile telecom into everything from home broadband to e-commerce.

Jio has emerged as the number one telecom operator in India, both in terms of traffic as well as revenue in a virtual two-player market since the third player, Vodafone-Idea is struggling under regulatory burden. Jio’s main competitor is Bharti Airtel.

Facebook in its official statement added,”In less than four years, Jio has brought more than 388 million people online, fueling the creation of innovative new enterprises and connecting people in new ways. We are committed to connecting more people in India together with Jio,”

Together with WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook overall is estimated to have more users in India than any other single country.

The number of internet users in India is projected to rise to about 850 million in 2022, according to consultancy PwC, up from 450 million in 2017.

“The partnership between Facebook and Jio is unprecedented in many ways. This is the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company anywhere in the world and the largest FDI in the technology sector in India,” RIL said.

“The investment values Jio Platforms amongst the top 5 listed companies in India by market capitalisation, within just three-and-a-half years of launch of commercial services, validating RIL’s capability in incubating and building disruptive next-generation businesses, while delivering market defining shareholder value,” the statement said.

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday revealed plans for 85 trillion won ($68.8 billion) worth of additional support packages to shore up the economy, including plans to create 500,000 new jobs. Speaking at an emergency economy meeting, Moon also revealed plans to roll out a South Korean version of the New Deal.

“Protecting jobs is the central task in overcoming the crisis, and it is a matter of survival,” Moon said. Saying Korea had just seen the beginning of the crisis, Moon warned of an employment shock of unprecedented scope and duration.

Moon went on to outline the additional measures the government plans to roll out.

Under plans revealed at the meeting, the government will establish a 40 trillion won fund to support key industries, expand the scale of financial measures by 35 trillion won and inject 10 trillion won to increase job security.

“Through the key industry stabilization fund, the government will prevent key industries from falling,” Moon said, adding that all possible steps would be taken to protect the industries.

However, Moon said the support would come with conditions attached.

“Responsibilities corresponding to the support will be placed on the corporations. Mechanisms (to ensure) overall employment being maintained, effort on their part, profit sharing will be established,” Moon said.

“Support will only be given under the condition of (guaranteeing) job security, and measures for preventing moral hazard — such as limiting salaries and dividends, and prohibiting stock repurchases — will be attached.”

Introducing plans to create jobs and increase job security, Moon said the measures will focus on preventing an employment crisis, while “dramatically reducing” blind spots in labor-related social security.

He said subsidies for companies that maintain employment will be increased, and that additional measures will be introduced for hard-hit sectors such as aviation and duty-free shopping.

In addition, a monthly subsidy of 500,000 won for three months will be given to over 930,000 individuals who have until now been unable to receive support, such as freelancers and small business owners.

Moon said the government will also create jobs to make up for weak capacity in the private sector.

“As the private sector’s capacity to create jobs is limited, the government will create 500,000 jobs. Public sector jobs and jobs for young people will be created to ease the difficulties of the people,” Moon said, adding that the public sector’s hiring process will be normalized as soon as possible.

Saying the government’s response goes beyond crisis management, Moon added that job creation projects will lay the foundation for future growth.

“By executing major state projects, the government will prepare for innovative growth in the post-corona era,” Moon said.

“Concerned ministries should quickly prepare a planning group to propel a Korean version of the New Deal.”

At the meeting, Moon also requested the National Assembly’s cooperation, asking lawmakers to quickly pass the second supplementary budget, and called on the government to make preparations for a third supplementary budget to enable the latest plans to go ahead.

Korean startup accelerator D.Camp has joined hands with media company Herald Corp, a member of Asia News Network, and content industry social job board IT startup Aroundus to launch Asia’s first online video contest platform “Korea Mobile Fest (KMF)” with a cash reward beginning at 42 million won (USD34,500).

The KMF platform is the first in Asia to adopt a cumulative cash prize system integrating all short-form online and mobile video contests into a single channel. For contest sponsors, the platform offers unprecedented marketing and online distribution tools.

KMF consists of two tiers; individual video contests where contestants can submit short videos, and the KMF Awards (KMF2020) – the annual Grand Prix award where the winners of the KMF-affiliated individual contests will be decided by video-related professionals. Winners of the individual contests automatically become candidates for the KMF2020 annual awards.

Part of the cash rewards from the affiliated individual contests will be accumulated to the KMF Awards, making the annual awards a snowballing jackpot.

The sole requirement for entry is that the content must either be fully or partially shot with smartphones or other designated mobile devices.

For more details, visit https://koreamobilefest.com/en/

As the COVID-19 epidemic in Indonesia shows no signs of easing, two of the country’s highest courts, the Supreme Court (MA) and the Constitutional Court (MK), have switched to virtual trials to keep the judicial system running.

The Supreme Court has determined in an unprecedented decision that all lower courts are to use the Zoom videoconferencing platform to conduct their trials fully online starting April 13. The court issued a joint agreement with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the Law and Human Rights Ministry late last month on conducting criminal trials by video conference.

On March 23, weeks before the switch comes into force, the court suspended most trials across the nation due to the COVID-19 epidemic. However, it still allowed the lower courts to conduct selected trials offline with restricted attendance at hearings and temperature scans for all attendees before they were permitted entry.

Under the new policy on virtual trials, the judges and prosecutors are to be physically present in the courtroom, while the defendants will be seated in a dedicated room at their detention facilities for a hearing. The prosecution will then use a video link to question the defendants.

“We need to carry on with the judicial process during the outbreak, so we have now decided not to postpone any trials and instead move them online,” Supreme Court spokesperson Abdullah said on Saturday.

Read also: Work from home: Security risks lurk in virtual meetings

According to Abdullah, all 382 lower courts in the country had started switching to online trials to days before the policy was issued. The courts had prevailed in holding virtual trials, despite a variety of technical glitches ranging from poor video and audio quality to unstable internet connections that interrupted the examination of witnesses and defendants.

Abdullah could not provide the exact number of virtual trials that had been held to date, but said that around 25,000 criminal cases had been tried online between March 23 and April 17.

He added that the Supreme Court would upgrade its technology and install proper equipment.

However, the court had no plans to livestream the trials for public view, Abdullah said, including trials that were usually open to the public.

The statement has fueled criticisms on the  transparency of the court, which is notorious for opposing external oversight. In its defense, the court said it wanted to protect the identities of all justices, prosecutors and witnesses, regardless of the nature of the court case.

“At the criminal courts, we also handle drug-related crimes, terrorism and graft cases that often involve criminal organizations. If the defendants are members of such groups, their associates could harm witnesses, judges and prosecutors if their identities are disclosed,” Abdullah said.

Meanwhile, civil cases tried at state administrative, civil and religious courts that fall under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction – including at the lower and appellate levels – had been moved to the e-litigation system on Jan. 1. In this system, the litigation documents are submitted electronically for the trial judges to examine.

Read also: Legal processes go online despite graft concerns

Unlike the Supreme Court and all courts under its jurisdiction, the Constitutional Court has been using videoconferencing facilities for witnesses, forensic witnesses and petitioners to deliver statements and  testimonies remotely, years before the pandemic emerged. It also livestreams all hearings on its website.

The Constitutional Court has suspended all hearings until April 21 to comply with the government’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Following the end of this suspension period, the court intends to apply a more inclusive videoconferencing method that would allow petitioners to present their cases remotely in judicial review hearings.

The court is now preparing a set of guidelines on conducting virtual trials for its nine justices.

“We have yet to decide whether the justices should adhere to the social distancing policy in the courtroom, or whether they may work from home but are obliged to wear their robes,” said Constitutional Court spokesman Fajar Laksono.

Julius Ibrani from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) said that all courts, in particular the Supreme Court, needed to maintain transparency since virtual trials tended to restrict public access to court proceedings. He said that the decision not to livestream the trials was an apparent attempt to restrict transparency.

Julius also urged the Supreme Court to standardize the videoconferencing technology at the lower courts to maintain the quality of the hearings to aid judges in issuing fair rulings.

He said that he had found that some online trials at lower courts focused the cameras on the defendants’ faces, which did not offer a birds’ eye view of the defendants’ surroundings at the detention centers. This made it difficult for judges and prosecutors to determine whether or not the defendants were being intimidated, manipulated or otherwise interfered with while giving their statements during a hearing.

“In such settings [at detention centers], we never know whether they are under pressure or not. False statements are likely to affect the rulings,” Julius said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Anticorruption Community (MAKI) has filed a petition with the Constitutional Court to challenge the controversial regulation that gave lawmakers impunity in taking extraordinary measures to protect the economy from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

MAKI coordinator Boyamin Saiman said that his experience in a 2013 challenge of a provision in the Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP), during which a fellow petitioner presented their arguments via video link, had convinced him that the court’s rulings would be unaffected by holding virtual trials.

The Constitutional Court has so far received seven petitions over the temporary lockdown.

The recurring cases account for 2.1 percent of the 7,829 people released from quarantine after recovering. Studies are underway to find out why, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It took 13.5 days on average for these patients to test positive again after being deemed clear of COVID-19 — as little as one day and as long as 35.

Currently, to be declared recovered and released from quarantine one needs two negative results from tests conducted at 24-hour intervals.

An epidemiological and clinical analysis of 137 recurring cases showed that more than half of them, 72 people, had no symptoms and 61 people showed mild symptoms, according to the KCDC. Analysis is underway for the other four.

Those who test positive again after release from quarantine are usually detected through regular testing required by some municipalities or when they show symptoms and seek testing themselves.

Health officials here have cautiously dismissed the possibility of patients being reinfected with the virus.

The virus, despite being present at undetectable levels in patients’ bodies, could have been reactivated due to their weakened immune systems, or the tests could have picked up “dead” remnants of the virus, the officials said. There is also the possibility that the test results were in error.

To find out whether those who test positive again can infect others, the health authorities ran an antibody analysis of 28 recurring cases. In six of the cases, the virus could not be cultivated, meaning those people were less contagious. Analysis is underway for the other 22 cases.

“We could not find the virus that was alive (in recovered patients who tested positive again), so we think it will not be highly infectious,” KCDC Director General Jeong Eun-kyeong said at a briefing Friday.

“In the cases testing positive again within one week after full recovery, many of them produce negative and positive results alternately before eventually producing positive results due to remaining pieces of the virus in the body,” she said.

As of Friday, there were no cases of secondary transmission from recovered patients who had tested positive again, according to the KCDC.

Some 294 people came into contact with the patients who tested positive again, with 256 of them under government monitoring.

While 22 recovered patients were back in self-quarantine after testing positive again on Friday, Korea saw 22 new infections. The total number of COVID-19 cases here stands at 10,635.

The number of recurring cases has more than tripled from 51 on April 6, keeping the authorities on their toes despite the country largely having brought the virus situation under control, with fewer than 30 new cases per day for the past week.

There were no such recurring cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome or Middle East respiratory syndrome, the authorities said a day earlier, calling the novel coronavirus “evil.”

Recurring positive test results were reported in all age groups, though people in their 20s accounted for the highest proportion, 23.3 percent. This appears to be partially because this age group accounts for the largest portion of the country’s total cases, 27.35 percent.

Of the recurring cases, 19.6 percent were in their 50s, 14.7 percent in their 30s, 11.6 percent in their 40s, 11 percent in their 60s, 9.2 percent in their 80s, 3.7 percent in their 70s, 3.7 percent in the 10-19 age group and 3.1 percent younger than 10.

By gender, 66.9 percent of the recurring cases involved women. Of the country’s total cases, 59.7 percent are women.

By region, Daegu, once Korea’s epicenter of the novel coronavirus, reported the most cases with 67, making up 41.1 percent of all recurring cases. Daegu represents the majority of the country’s total cases, accounting for 64.2 percent.

Some 33 percent of the cases were registered in North Gyeongsang Province, 8 percent in Gyeonggi Province and 5 percent in Seoul.

The death toll caused by COVID-19 in Wuhan has been amended to 3,869 by April 16, and the confirmed infections total 50,333, according to a notification released by the Wuhan epidemic prevention and control center on Friday.

The fatalities are up by 1,290 compared with the previous reported figure of 2,579, and the number of confirmed cases saw a small increase of 325.

The notification said the increase was due to a comprehensive examination and verification of figures from various departments such as funeral parlors, medical institutions, public security authorities and communities in Wuhan, the city hit hardest by the novel coronavirus in China.

In the early stage of the outbreak, a rapid rise in number of patients and quick spread of the disease overwhelmed the city’s medical system, making data collecting difficult.

Now the transmission of the disease has been basically contained and the lockdown of the city been lifted, which makes it possible to look back and comprehensively reexamine the data to ensure its accuracy, according to an official in charge of the matter.

Such a practice is based on relevant Chinese laws and regulations, and conducted under the principle of “being responsible to history, the people and the deceased”, the notification said.

In late March, the Wuhan headquarters established a special group working on data verification, which has extensively examined and closely compared statistics from various sources to make sure every single person affected is counted.

The verification found that some data reporting was delayed or was not accurate in the early stage of the outbreak, so the numbers should be amended according to relevant Chinese laws and regulations, the notification said.

In the early stage, the capability of nucleic acid testing and medical resources was very limited in the city, so some patients died at home without being treated. Medical staff was too busy to treat patients so there had been some delayed reporting. Also, as various types of medical institutions were used to admit COVID-19 patients, a few of them had not been linked with the online direct reporting system.

These all resulted in the inaccuracy of initial statistics, according to the notification.

“Social distancing is something we should get very used to for the foreseeable future,” said Morrison in an interview with radio station 3AW on Friday.

“It could be a year… but I’m not speculating about that,” he said.

Morrison on Thursday announced that social distancing measures would be in place for at least another four weeks.

However, on Friday morning he said that government’s advice on staying at least 1.5 meters away from others will remain in place until a vaccine is developed and rolled out.

“Certainly while the virus is prevalent across the world, that (the 1.5 meter rule) should be a natural instinct for us,” he said.

He said that before restrictions could be eased, Australia must establish a more robust testing regime and at least 40 percent of the population sign up to a coronavirus tracing smartphone application.

The app will track users’ movements and notify them if they have been in recent contact with another user who tests positive for the virus.

“We need to get an automatic, industrial level tracing of the coronavirus,” Morrison said.

“We’ve been working on this automatic process through an app that can ensure that we can know where the contacts were over that infection period and we can move very quickly to lock that down.”

“This is the simple deal: if people download the app and more people have got it, the sooner we can start easing off on some of these restrictions,” he added.

A total of 11,151 out of 59,918 quarantined individuals nationwide had been permitted to vote on Election Day under the condition that they limit their travel to and back from the polling station and wear protective equipment such as a face covering the whole time outside.

To keep the elections infection-free, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instituted safety measures such as obligating the use of face masks and single-use gloves and maintaining a distance of 1 meter at polling places. Separate booths were set up for feverish or otherwise symptomatic voters.

The National Election Commission said it spent 22 billion won ($17.9 million) of its budget for virus control, with 158,781 poll workers mobilized for the extra work — 26,602 more than the last parliamentary election’s workforce of 132,179.

Despite the efforts, at least four self-isolators went astray during the designated hours between 5:20 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, when they were supposed to vote.

Instead of casting their ballots, some made stops at places like a gaming cafe, pool bar and cellphone store. Several in Songpa, southern Seoul, voted at a regular polling station with other voters.

Officials said they were seeking criminal charges against three of them, including a man in his 50s in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, who was a second-time offender.

Those who may have come in contact with the quarantine violators have been informed and are undergoing testing.

The latest data shows 58,387 people under quarantine orders as of Thursday. As thousands are quarantined each day, the administrative burden of surveillance is mounting. In Seoul alone, 2,250 officials are charged with monitoring the over 19,000 quarantined residents in the city.

Twenty-two additional people were confirmed with COVID-19 in the preceding 24 hours as of Thursday just after midnight, marking a cumulative total of 10,613 cases.

Of those, 7,757, or 73 percent, have been declared recovered. Two negative results in tests conducted in 24-hour intervals qualifies as a recovery.

But health officials said at least 141 former patients tested positive again after they were deemed cleared of the virus. The disease control agency said it is investigating the “second positive” cases.

The greater Seoul area, including Gyeonggi Province, accounted for the highest proportion of new cases at six. Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province each added four. Busan had three and Gangwon Province one.

The other four were detected at the border. The number of imported cases reached 967.

All arrivals to Korea have been required to self-isolate for 14 days since April 1. In an added screening measure, from Monday, visa waiver programs have been suspended for 90 countries that are banning the entry of Koreans.

Four more people died, bringing the death toll to 229. Korea’s fatality rate stands at over 2 percent. The rate is much higher for those above 80 years old, at 21 percent.

Amid the drop in daily tally, discussions for enabling an economic reopening are underway.

A joint committee for devising “routine quarantine” guidance held its second meeting Thursday morning. “Routine quarantine” is the term for a renewed virus strategy where social distancing is partially eased to resume economic activity, the committee has explained.

As the second phase of Korea’s “intense” social distancing campaign is set to end Sunday, the committee is conducting a public opinion survey to be reflected in the updated virus plan.

But the committee said lessons from Singapore showed lifting distancing measures could lead to a second wave of the disease, adding, the decision to shift to a scaled-down control strategy would be announced in about one to two weeks.

Seoul National University’s public health research team found 65 percent of its 1,000 respondents in an April 10-13 survey believed risk of transmission will increase once social distancing ceases.

The proportion of people concerned with lax social distancing was highest among those in their 20s at 71 percent, followed by 40-somethings at 68 percent and 30-somethings at 65 percent.

Close to half — 44 percent — said Korea was not safe from COVID-19 infections, as opposed to 21 percent who said it was.

Health officials yet again urged people to stay home as much as possible, referring to a recent case in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, where an infected patient was found to have passed the virus on to at least 30 others.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said in a Thursday press briefing that the Yecheon case was an example of a social distancing breach leading to mass infections.

“One person, oblivious of infection, failed to practice social distancing and infected some 30 family members, neighbors,” he said. “I hope this serves as an example of how lapses in social distancing can endanger those around.”

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)

For many Indonesians, family is among the first people we turn to for support and comfort when the going gets tough, but as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps more and more people home for work and school, urban migrants in Jakarta have been asked to refrain from returning to their hometowns to prevent the outbreak from spreading farther across the country.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo called on all citizens last week to work, study and worship from home to help slow the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Indonesia has reported 790 confirmed cases to date and the numbers continue to rise each day. By Wednesday afternoon, 31 out of the 58 deaths across the nation were residents of Jakarta, which has emerged as the epicenter of the outbreak in Indonesia.

While many people still refuse to listen to the government and thereby put themselves and others at risk of infection, other people have chosen to stay put – not only for their own safety, but also for the safety of their loved ones.

Wednesday marked the 10th day of self-isolation for Cynthia, a 25-year-old start-up content editor who lives in a rented room in Jakarta, far from her family in Medan, North Sumatra.

Following the news closely from their home, Cynthia’s parents have asked her to return to Medan, worried about their daughter living alone in the capital that has been hardest hit by the outbreak.

Although she really wanted to go back to be with her family and to take care of her mother, Cynthia has decided to stay in Jakarta – at least until the outbreak subsides. She understands that older adults and people with chronic or underlying medical conditions are at a higher risk of infection, or even dying from COVID-19.

“My mom is having chemotherapy right now for Stage IV breast cancer and she is immunocompromised. I would not forgive myself if anything happened to her just because I couldn’t stay put in Jakarta,” she told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. “I don’t want to potentially carry a virus back to my hometown.”

Cynthia, who declined to give her family name, said she understood her colleagues who had decided to go back to their hometowns for fear of being quarantined all alone, or just to be with their families during these unprecedented and stressful times.

“That being said, it doesn’t erase the fact that it is selfish and is putting others at risk. If I can stay away from my sick mom, so can you. But then again, it boils down to what they consider to be important,” she noted.

Public health expert Sudirman Nasir said that it was important for people – and especially youngsters – to understand that although they might feel healthy or are not showing any symptoms associated with the disease, they can still be carriers of the virus and infect others.

For people who had traveled far from home for work or study, this meant that they must avoid returning to their hometowns in the midst of the outbreak, said the lecturer from Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi, who is now offering his lectures online for as long as the study-from-home policy remains in place.

Sudirman added that he never tired of telling those who lived far from home to stay put in Makassar.

“If you love them, then don’t go home, especially if your parents and relatives who have comorbidities [additional health conditions] or are above 65 years old. You can use technology to communicate with them for the time being,” he told the Post. “It is pivotal to practice [physical] distancing and avoid travel.”

Separately, 31-year-old Yodie Hardiyam admitted to being a little worried that he might have put his family’s lives in danger, although he had no idea whether he was a carrier. An employee of a company based in Jakarta, he did not think about the possible consequences of a brief trip he recently took to see his family in Salatiga, Central Java.

“I’m worried because [my parents] are now over 60 years old,” Yodie said. “We keep tabs on each other every day to see how we’re doing. Alhamdulillah [Praise be to God] we are all healthy so far, and I am grateful for that.”

Looking at the worsening conditions in Jakarta and across the country, Yodie has considered scrapping this year’s plans to take mudik – the annual exodus that millions of Indonesians make to reunite with their families in their hometowns for Idul Fitri.

The two-day Islamic holiday is expected to fall on May 24 to 25 this year, while the holy fasting month of Ramadan is likely to start around April 24.

Chenny, 25, another employee based in Jakarta, said that most of her relatives in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, had already canceled their flights to Semarang.

The city in Central Java is where her grandmother lives, and where the entire family gathers every year for Idul Fitri.

“We had already bought our tickets for Idul Fitri, but we decided to cancel them. Our grandmother is really old and we don’t want to take any chances in any way and infect her,” she said.

Syahrizal Syarief, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, said that the most dangerous thing about returning to one’s hometown or going on mudik during the outbreak was that people would ultimately flock to public transportation hubs – the worst possible place to be if the aim was to contain the virus’ spread.

Syahrizal urged the government to issue a much stronger policy to avoid this mass movement of people. This was particularly vital because he believed that people would not wait until Ramadan to return to their hometowns, especially those who were financially affected by the physical distancing or the work-from-home policy.

“Living costs are more expensive in Jakarta than they are back in rural areas. [People] most definitely won’t wait until the fasting month to go home,” he said.

As the number of scheduled trips continue to dwindle, the Transportation Ministry is mulling whether to restrict or even ban this year’s mudik to cut down on mass gatherings.

Meanwhile, railway companies are already feeling the adverse effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Vice president for public relations Yuskal Setiawan at PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), when contacted by the Post on Saturday, said that the state-owned railway company had seen a 46 percent decline in bookings for long-distance journeys since the outbreak emerged.

Yuskal expected the downward trend to continue [at least] until Ramadan. “Demand is low and many passengers have canceled their trips,” he said.

SINGAPORE – The Government is setting aside a further $48.4 billion to support businesses, workers and families as Singapore grapples with an unprecedented crisis posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

This comes on top of the $6.4 billion in measures that it announced just over a month ago to cushion the fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak.

In all, Singapore is dedicating nearly $55 billion to combat the coronavirus – about 11 per cent of its GDP – Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Thursday (March 26) when he unveiled the Supplementary Budget.

Mr Heng told the House: “This is a landmark package, and a necessary response to a unique situation.”

The additional $48 billion amounts to nearly half of the Government’s $106 billion Budget for 2020.

It is also more than double the $20.5 billion Resilience Package announced in the 2009 Budget to tackle the global financial crisis.

Mr Heng said President Halimah Yacob has given her in-principle support to draw up to $17 billion from the country’s past reserves to fund part of this $48 billion “Resilience Budget”.

This is only the second time Singapore has drawn on its national reserves to fund special Budget measures. The first time was during the 2009 global financial crisis, when then President S R Nathan approved a draw of $4.9 billion to fund support measures.

Describing the coronavirus pandemic as an “unprecedented crisis of a highly complex nature”, Mr Heng said: “In economic terms alone, this will likely be the worst economic contraction since independence.”

“This extraordinary situation calls for extraordinary measures,” he added.

The Resilience Budget focuses on three key areas, Mr Heng said. First, to save jobs, support workers, and protect livelihoods.

Second, to help businesses overcome immediate challenges.

And third, to strengthen economic and social resilience so the country can emerge intact and stronger.

Mr Heng noted that the coronavirus outbreak has impacted broad swathes of Singapore’s economy, with the aviation and tourism sectors worst hit.

He said international visitor arrivals have nearly ground to a halt.

Consumer-facing sectors such as food services, retail trade and land transport have been significantly affected, he said.

As external demand falls and supply chains get disrupted, outward-oriented sectors such as manufacturing and wholesale trade have also been hit, he added.

Mr Heng spoke after Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin delivered President Halimah Yacob’s message on her behalf in Parliament.

Mr Tan said the second support package to tackle Covid-19 is a substantial one that exceeds the current reserves accumulated in this term of government.

“Our reserves were built up over the years through prudent spending, and were set aside precisely to cater for rainy days. The situation we are heading into looks more like a thunderstorm and not just a drizzle.”

Advance GDP estimates released on Thursday morning show that Singapore’s economy shrank 2.2 per cent in the first quarter.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry downgraded its 2020 growth forecast to a range of minus 4.0 per cent to minus 1.0 per cent this year, from an earlier estimate of minus 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

The last time Singapore registered a full-year contraction of its economy was in 2001, during the dot.com bust, when growth fell by 1 per cent.

Setting out the grim worldwide economic outlook, Mr Heng said the global economy is now facing both supply and demand shocks.

On the supply side, locked down workers are unable to work, and a disruption in any one country will have knock-on effects worldwide as global supply chains are highly integrated.

Demand has fallen as people stay home and stop spending, he noted.

The International Monetary Fund expects a recession that will at minimum rival the one during the 2008 global financial crisis, while financial markets are being roiled by the mounting uncertainties, he said.

As an open economy that is highly integrated with the global economy, Singapore will be deeply impacted by global financial shocks, he added.

The Deputy Prime Minister recounted how there were 800 confirmed cases outside of China just five weeks ago, when he presented Budget 2020 on Feb 18.

The outbreak has escalated quickly since, and the World Health Organisation now estimates that there are more 410,000 cases across more than 190 countries.

On the medical front, many countries have implemented lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus so that their healthcare systems are not overwhelmed, he said.

“In Singapore, we are doing everything we can to keep you and your families safe,” he said.

The country has stepped up its measures as the outbreak worsened worldwide, he noted.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to take at least a year to be resolved, and the economic repercussions will last even longer, Mr Heng said.

“The world is seeing successive waves of infection, and importation of infections. We must be prepared to take further, tougher measures.”

Covid-19, Mr Heng said, is a defining challenge for Singapore – one that will test its social cohesion and pyschological resilience.

“The Government will take all the social and economic measures we need to keep our people safe, keep our economy running, and prepare ourselves for the recovery.

“Now, more than ever, we need Singaporeans to be strong, and ride through these challenges together.”

He said he named this Supplementary Budget the “Resilience Budget”, to reflect the country’s determination to remain resilient in the face of these challenges.

“Come what may, no matter how daunting the challenge at hand, we will bounce back, stronger and more united than ever as we weather this storm together,” he said.