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Indonesia braces for worst-case coronavirus scenario
The government is preparing to activate the worst-case scenario should Indonesia record more than 60,000 new cases daily, but has stopped short of extending the emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat).
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A worker wearing personal protective equipment rests while preparing a grave at a burial area provided by the government for COVID-19 victims as the case numbers surge, in Bekasi, West Java, on July 15, 2021. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
T
he government is bracing for the worst-case scenario as the country battles the latest COVID-19 surge while hoping the situation will improve in the coming weeks, a senior minister has said.
In a live-streamed press briefing on Thursday, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the government was preparing scenarios should the country see a further surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“If we’re talking about 60,000 [new cases a day] or slightly higher than that, that’s still fine. We’re hoping that the figure won’t reach 100,000. But even if we get there, we’re preparing ourselves for the worst scenario,” Luhut said.
Indonesia has overtaken India as Asia’s new epicenter for the coronavirus pandemic, with daily infections exceeding 50,000 — up more than 10-fold on the number of cases in early June.
On Thursday, the Health Ministry confirmed 56,757 new cases, bringing a cumulative total of 2.72 million cases. Moreover, authorities recorded 982 new deaths on the same day, bringing the total tally for COVID-19 deaths in the country to 70,192.
To date, health authorities have recorded 480,199 active COVID-19 cases across the nation.
Read also: PPKM Darurat necessary for sustainable recovery in Indonesia
