Foreign
INDONESIA is on the brink of a Coronavirus (COVID-19) ‘catastrophe,’ partly due to the spread of the Delta variant of the virus, the Red Cross said on Tuesday, urging ramp-up of testing and vaccinations.
The country’s medical association warned this week that the health system on the main island of Java was near collapse, with many hospitals turning away patients.
“Every day we are seeing this Delta variant driving Indonesia closer to the edge of a COVID-19 catastrophe,’’ said Jan Gelfand, Head of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) in Indonesia.
“We need lightning-fast action globally so that countries like Indonesia have access to the vaccines needed to avert tens of thousands of deaths,’’ he said in a statement.
More than 20 per cent of COVID-19 tests in Indonesia are returning positive, indicating that the number of infected people is likely to be much more widespread, the IFRC said.
Indonesia recorded 20,467 new cases on Tuesday, taking the total to more than 2.2 million, according to the health ministry.
Another 463 fatalities overnight brought the virus-related death toll to 58,024.
Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, said on Monday that the country would soon vaccinate children after its drug regulator authorised emergency use of the vaccine made by China’s Sinovac Biotech for people aged 12 to 17.
Nearly 28.3 million people aged 18 and above in the world’s fourth most populous nation of 270 million people have received at least the first dose of a vaccine.
Indonesia has set a target of inoculating 181.5 million people by early 2022. (dpa/NAN)
– June 29, 2021 @ 14:35 GMT|
Tags: Indonesia on brink of COVID-19 catastrophe — Red Cross
