By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
Indonesia is struggling to slow COVID-19 transmission even after imposing its toughest mobility curbs yet, while its immunization rate is low, with just 5.8% of its 270 million people fully vaccinated.
The Indonesia Ministry of Health recorded an additional 44,721 COVID-19 cases and 1093 deaths to bring the country total to 2,877,476 total cases and 73,582 deaths.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo extended the emergency public activity restrictions, known locally as PPKM Darurat, to July 31 amid the ongoing surge in COVID-19 transmissions.
“It’s very fair to say that Indonesia is the epicentre of Asia,” said Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Australia’s Griffith University.
In addition, the Indonesia’s doctors association (IDI) says a total of 114 doctors died during July 1-17, the highest number reported for any period of similar length and more than 20% of the 545 total doctor deaths from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Doctors deaths have increased in Indonesia despite a 95% vaccination rate among health workers. This has prompted the government to use a batch of Moderna vaccines as booster shots to China’s Sinovac for healthcare workers.
China reports first year-on-year HIV/AIDS infections decline in a decade
China reports 1st human herpes B infection in Beijing veterinarian
Vietnam records 1,438 new COVID-19 cases, Ho Chi Minh City alone has 1,071 cases
Philippines COVID-19 advisor: 50 million need to be vaccinated before mask use stopped
Philippines COVID-19 variant update, Stricter border control to prevent Lambda variant
One thought on “Indonesia COVID-19: ‘It’s very fair to say that Indonesia is the epicentre of Asia’”