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Indonesia braces for the third wave of COVID-19 infections
Epidemiologists have warned the third wave may strike Indonesia in December or January, citing a slow vaccination rate and the expected increase in public mobility during the year-end holidays.
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People wearing protective face masks stand in line to scan a barcode before entering Pondok Indah shopping mall in South Jakarta, on Aug. 13, 2021. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
H
ealth authorities and hospitals across the archipelago are bracing for a potentially devastating "third wave" of COVID-19 infections, as public mobility increases amid the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions and a dip in new cases.
Epidemiologists have warned the third wave may strike Indonesia in December or January, citing a slow vaccination rate and the expected increase in public mobility during the year-end holidays.
National COVID-19 task force spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the Health Ministry was currently trying to accelerate vaccine rollouts in regions with higher risk of COVID-19 infections, — such as urban agglomeration areas and provincial capitals — to anticipate an uptick in COVID-19 infections.
"We are aiming to jab 70 percent of people living in agglomeration areas in the islands of Java and Bali with the first dose by the end of September. We are also aiming to reach 70 percent vaccination coverage in provincial capitals outside of Java and Bali by October," Siti told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
However, as per Wednesday, out of eight urban agglomeration areas in Java and Bali, only Bali's Denpasar and its satellite cities had reached vaccination coverage of over 70 percent for the first dose.
Previously, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that the government planned to provide free and paid booster shots for the public to weather a third wave of infections.
