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100,000 and counting: Delta-fueled deaths reach grim record
The first cases of Delta transmission were found among COVID-19 patients in Jakarta in January when the country saw the first surge of cases, with daily infections averaging above 10,000.
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This aerial picture shows the graves of victims of the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Rorotan cemetery in Jakarta on August 4, 2021. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
I
ndonesia passed the grim record of 100,000 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday as the Delta variant-fueled second wave of the pandemic continues to ravage the country, killing more than a thousand a day in the past three weeks.
The first cases of Delta transmission were found among COVID-19 patients in Jakarta in January when the country saw the first surge of cases, with daily infections averaging above 10,000. Cases, however, began to decline in February, prompting the government to lower its guard and ease restrictions.
Authorities appeared to overlook the fact that this highly transmissible variant, when left unchecked, could lead to an even more catastrophic outbreak.
Now, seven months later, the Delta variant is wreaking havoc across the country, forcing the government to take almost all available measures to prevent further deaths, from extending restrictions and adding more hospital beds to sending first responders to pick up self-isolating patients whose conditions have deteriorated and bringing them to hospitals, and speeding up vaccination drives.
Read also: Darkest days ahead: Deaths surge in Indonesia as health facilities collapse
The second wave
The start of the second outbreak was down to the fact that the government had failed to anticipate the high mobility and holiday crowds caused by the Idul Fitri holiday in mid-May, with hordes of Indonesians going on mudik (exodus) despite an intercity travel ban.
