Indonesia health minister announces COVID-19 peak; positivity rate consistent at 25%

With a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced that the country has reached a peak of the pandemic due to the entrance of a highly contagious delta variant earlier in June this year. The health minister, during an online news conference on Tuesday, August 2, said that Java, the highest populated region of the country, has already reached the peak with increasing numbers. However, the minister reiterated that the region has started improving. "We have to learn from past experiences that how other countries have surpassed the COVID-19 wave and accordingly, we will have to work in order to arrest the spread of the deadly virus," added the health minister.

Hospital bed occupancy rate is very high in some provinces

Sadikin said that the virus is spreading swiftly from the islands of Java and Bali, where the government has prompted partial lockdown after the situation has gone 'out of control'. According to a report by AP, hospitals are running in almost full capacity with Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan being hit hard with the Coronavirus pandemic. "Nationally, we still have some room. But the bed occupancy rate is very high in some provinces where the explosion of the Delta variant is concentrated, said the health minister. Moreover, the government is struggling to acquire enough vaccines to reach its target of inoculating more than 181 million of its 270 million people by March 2022. 

Positivity rate has been consistent at about 25 per cent

With the recent surge in cases, the country has become an 'epicentre' of the deadly virus in Asia, surpassing recent daily infections in India. On Sunday, Indonesia registered 30,738 new cases, taking the total tally to 3,462,800 out of its population of 2,70,000 million, while its positivity rate has been consistent at about 25 per cent in recent weeks. The figures are widely believed to be a vast undercount due to low testing and poor tracing measures. The Southeast Asian country is running out of oxygen due to rising cases of coronavirus and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. Several countries have announced new bans or restrictions on travellers from Indonesia, including neighbouring Singapore and the Philippines.

(With inputs from AP)

(Image Credit: AP/Pixabay)