Indonesia reports record number of COVID cases

Indonesia reported a record number of new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as the Omicron variant spreads across the Southeast Asian archipelago.

The number of daily infections topped 57,000, according to the government's COVID-19 taskforce, surpassing the previous peak of 56,757 cases recorded in July last year during the country's Delta wave.

"The national figure for positive cases in this third wave increased sharply and faster compared to the second wave," taskforce spokesman Wiku Adisasmito told a press briefing.

But the death rate is far lower than during the Delta surge when Indonesia reported around 2,000 fatalities a day.

The country was severely impacted by the pandemic last year, with hospitals running out of beds and medical oxygen to treat patients.

Indonesia reported 134 new deaths from COVID on Tuesday, while the hospital bed occupancy rate is around 33 percent, compared to more than 77 percent during the Delta explosion.

The government this month imposed stricter restrictions on public facilities, offices, malls and restaurants in several cities but has progressively shortened the quarantine period for vaccinated travellers coming in from abroad.

To date Indonesia has recorded 4.9 million infections with more than 145,000 deaths.

The rollout of vaccines remains slow with only half of the 270 million population inoculated with two doses as authorities struggle to procure enough shots.

© 2022 AFP