Indonesia races to weaken 3rd infection wave
Indonesia is bracing for a third wave of coronavirus infections as the highly transmissible omicron variant drives a surge in new cases.
The country reported nearly 12,000 new infections and 17 deaths in the latest 24-hour period. It was the highest daily caseload since August when Indonesia was struggling to contain a delta-driven wave.
Indonesia had recovered from last year’s spike that was among the worst in the region, and daily infections had fallen to about 200 by December. But cases are rising again just weeks after the country reported its first local omicron transmission.
“The upsurge will be extremely fast . ... We will see a sharp rise in the near future,” said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, adding that the current wave would likely peak at the end of February or in early March.
He said the government dedicated more beds for COVID-19 patients, ramped up tracing and testing and intensified vaccinations in all regions. But some health experts doubt the measures will be enough given lax enforcement.
Bed occupancy rates in the capital, Jakarta, the epicenter of the omicron outbreak, rose from 5% in early January to 45% on Saturday, said Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria.
Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist and academic adviser to the government, said Indonesians are still traumatized from the delta variant when many died in isolation at home or while waiting to receive emergency care as hospitals were swamped. During last year’s surge, hospitals erected plastic tents as makeshift intensive care units, and patients waited for days before being admitted.
President Joko Widodo has urged asymptomatic patients to self-isolate at home for five days and to use telemedicine services to access doctors and medicine. “This is important so that our health care facilities can focus on treating patients with more severe symptoms or patients of other diseases that need intensive care,” Widodo said.