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Indonesia expands nationwide COVID-19 curbs
The new restrictions would apply to dozens of cities and extend from Sumatra to Papua as the highly infectious Delta variant rips across the country after battering densely populated Java.
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Presiden Joko Widodo (kanan) berbincang dengan Menko Perekonomian Airlangga Hartarto sebelum memimpin rapat terbatas (ratas) tentang persiapan Hannover Messe 2020 dan World Expo Dubai 2020 di Kantor Presiden, Jakarta, Senin (17/2/2020). Dalam ratas tersebut Presiden Joko Widodo menyatakan agar saat berpartisipasi pada Hannover Messe 2020 dan World Expo Dubai 2020 harus siap secara detail karena kegiatan tersebut merupakan peluang untuk mempromosikan potensi ekonomi Indonesia. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak)
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ndonesia expanded nationwide coronavirus curbs Wednesday to battle its deadliest COVID-19 wave yet, as the death toll rocketed with the government warning that the worst may be yet to come.
The new restrictions would apply to dozens of cities and extend from Sumatra to Papua as the highly infectious Delta variant rips across the country after battering densely populated Java.
"Cases are also rising in other regions and we need to pay attention to the availability of hospitals" there, said Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, adding: "the government has decided to extend the restrictions" until July 20, AFP reported.
The country's hospitals are buckling under the pressure as a wave of sick patients flood the overwhelmed healthcare system.
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This week the government rolled out new virus curbs in the hard-hit capital Jakarta, across Java and on holiday island Bali as it reported Tuesday a record 31,189 new infections and 728 deaths -- as much as seven times the daily mortality rate less than a month ago.
Areas affected by the extended restrictions announced on Wednesday have much lower daily case counts than COVID-19 epicenter Java, home to more than half of Indonesia's nearly 270 million people.
But limited health-care services in those regions are already under strain and an explosion in cases could bring them to their knees, Airlangga warned.
"Facilities in those regions are limited and overwhelmed," he said, adding that even tighter rules may follow if infections keep rising.
The wider restrictions include forcing the majority of non-essential employees to work from home, as well as limiting shop and restaurant hours.
The country's mosques and churches were also closed in the highest-risk areas.
On Tuesday, the government announced it had prepared backup medical facilities for a worst-case scenario where daily coronavirus infections reach 40,000 to 50,000, as the country reported another day of record fatalities from its worst outbreak so far.
Indonesia has one of Asia's most severe COVID-19 epidemics, exacerbated by the highly infectious Delta variant, with hospitals overstretched, oxygen supply problems and a growing number of sick unable to receive medical attention.
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The country has seen record daily infections in 11 of the past 16 days, with 31,189 new cases and 728 fatalities on Tuesday.
Just 1.6 percent of its more than 270 million population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Reuters reported.
