Indonesia extends COVID curbs by a week as hospitals deluged
Indonesia has become Asia’s COVID-19 epicentre with hospitals overwhelmed, particularly on the densely populated island of Java and on Bali.Less than 7 percent of Indonesia’s population of 270 million has been fully vaccinated [Chideer Mahyuddin/AFP]
Published On 25 Jul 2021
Indonesia extended its COVID-19 restrictions by a week to August 2 to try to curb infections, President Joko Widodo has announced, after the government said it would add more intensive care units amid a rise in deaths.
Indonesia has become Asia’s COVID-19 epicentre with hospitals deluged, particularly on the densely populated island of Java and on Bali, where oxygen supplies are running thin.
“I’d like to thank all Indonesians for their understanding and support for the curbs that have been effective for 23 days,” the president, known as Jokowi, said on Sunday, adding that COVID infections and hospital bed occupancies had declined, without specifying by how much.
Considerably looser than the previous curbs, Jokowi said the government would gradually adjust some restrictions on “some activities”, while allowing traditional markets and restaurants with outdoor areas to open, with some limitations.
Some businesses, from salons and laundries to vehicle repair shops, are now allowed to open.
But the Delta variant has been detected in about a dozen regions outside Jakarta, densely populated Java and Bali, where infections have also soared in recent weeks.
Nearly 19,000 foreign nationals have left Indonesia through Jakarta’s main international airport since early July, an exodus led by Japanese and Chinese expatriates, with 2,962 and 2,219 departures respectively, the immigration department said Tuesday.
Indonesia is a major market for Japanese firms, and hosts many business projects backed by companies in China, its biggest trading partner.
Indonesia’s vaccination levels remain well below the government’s one-million-a-day target for July. Less than seven percent of its 270 million people have been fully inoculated with two jabs.
The country has reported a total of more than 3.2 million cases and 86,835 virus deaths, but those official figures are widely believed to be a severe undercount, due to low testing and tracing rates.
