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Indonesia reports record high of 54,517 new coronavirus cases
The data also showed 991 new deaths, bringing the total number to 69,210. Indonesia has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths from COVID-19 in Southeast Asia.
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A motorist passes an alley in South Gandaria subdistrict, Cilandak district, South Jakarta on June 21, 2021. A neighborhood in the subdistrict is put under local lockdown due to the high number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in the area. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
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ndonesia recorded its biggest daily increase in coronavirus infections with 54,517 cases on Wednesday, taking the total tally to just over 2.67 million cases, according to data from the country’s COVID-19 taskforce.
The data also showed 991 new deaths, bringing the total number to 69,210. Indonesia has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths from COVID-19 in Southeast Asia.
Earlier on Wednesday, Heath Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that concerns are mounting over the ability of the country's regions to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases, as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads quickly across Indonesia.
Read also: Indonesia looks to India for COVID-19 response template, testing remains key
The country is struggling to slow the pace of COVID-19 transmission, with record daily case numbers on six of the past 10 days, including 47,899 new infections on Tuesday, despite new containment measures.
The Delta variant first identified in India has been found in 11 areas outside of the densely populated Java island, Budi said.
Cases and bed occupancy rates have risen in parts of Sumatra, Papua and Kalimantan, or Indonesian Borneo, and far-flung regions like West Papua were especially concerning, he told parliament this week.
"We must monitor this tightly, because if there's something happening there, their health capacities are below Jakarta or Java," Budi said.
In East Nusa Tenggara, infections have more than doubled in the last three days, while in Lampung on Sumatra, bed occupancy on Monday had reached 86 percent, East Kalimantan at 85 percent, and West Papua at 79 percent.
Ismen Mukhtar, an epidemiologist in Lampung, said Indonesia's regions were extremely vulnerable.
Read also: Indonesia posts record deaths as more regions gear up for tighter curbs
"Health facilities are urgently needed because they save lives," he said.
"But what's more important is limiting transmission."
