BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 16 : Indonesia and Brunei are exploring direct shipping between the two nations, which allows Indonesian products to be sold and delivered to the Sultanate cheaper and faster, said Ambassador of Indonesia to Brunei Darussalam Dr Sujatmiko has announced.

“It will facilitate the transport of products from Indonesia to Brunei and vice versa. We have tried several times to begin shipping between our two countries without going through a third country,“ he said on the sidelines of a Hari Raya gathering.

He also added that Brunei and Indonesia have close economic and trade ties while Indonesian products are commonly found in the Sultanate.

Meanwhile, the ambassador said Royal Brunei Airlines and Garuda Airlines have begun operations, which can give a boost to the tourism sector.

“Bruneians can now travel to cities like Bali, Batam and Jakarta,” he said.

Meanwhile, Brunei recorded 248 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, bringing the national tally of confirmed cases to 144,659.

Of the new cases, 245 were results from antigen rapid tests (ARTs) and three were results of 352 RT-PCR laboratory tests performed in the past 24 hours.

In the past 24 hours, no Covid-19 fatalities were reported.

Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Abu Bakar Apong shared the latest Covid-19 updates at the daily press conference.

On the latest number of cases in Categories 4 and 5, the minister said, “There are no cases in Category 5 requiring treatment in the intensive care unit, and no cases in Category 4 requiring respiratory assistance.”

Dr Awang Abu Bakar said 261 cases have recovered, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 142,788.

The country has 1,651 active cases with 17 receiving treatment in hospitals and 1,634 cases undergoing self-isolation.

Meanwhile, 824 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were administered to children aged five to 11 on Friday, bringing the total number of the first dose of vaccine administered to 31,933 or 74.4 per cent.

Some 1,113 second doses of the vaccine were administered to children in the age group, bringing the tally of the second doses administered to children to 9,925 or 23.1 per cent.

The rate for the Sultanate’s citizens and residents having received three doses of the vaccine is 68.4 per cent.

 - ANN