GEIS-新闻详情

Health minister leads push for stricter curbs in coronavirus-ravaged Indonesia

2021-06-28 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-亚洲原网页

JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Indonesia's health minister is leading a push for stricter controls as coronavirus cases surge to unprecedented levels, according to sources familiar with government discussions.

Coronavirus infections in Indonesia have tripled in the past month, overwhelming hospitals in capital Jakarta and other centres on the heavily populated island of Java.

On Sunday (June 27), the country posted its fifth record daily high for Covid-19 cases in the past week, with 21,342 people confirmed as positive, equivalent to over a quarter of those tested.

Three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin had urged tougher social restriction measures but was overruled. He is continuing to push his case, they said.

One of the sources said government meetings on the issue would take place this week.

Citing the need to safeguard South-east Asia's biggest economy, Indonesia has rejected the lockdowns imposed by its neighbours and similar large developing countries like India.

Instead, Jakarta has opted for social restrictions targeting villages and neighbourhoods deemed "red zones" due to high infections, a policy known as PPKM Mikro.

President Joko Widodo on Friday said the current strategy was working but needed better enforcement.

Last week, the head of the country's Covid-19 task force, Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto, banned religious activities at houses of worship, closed schools and bars, and required offices, restaurants, cafes and malls to operate at 25 per cent capacity in red zones for two weeks.

When asked if the Health Minister wanted greater curbs on social mobility, a ministry spokesman replied "in accordance with the current policy".

A spokesman for the President said: "Until now, we still have PPKM Mikro, empirically it is still very effective to control small areas."

The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) on Sunday called on the government to implement large-scale restrictions, especially across the island of Java, home to more than half the country's population of 270 million people.

The IDI said that 24 regencies and cities had reported isolation bed capacity at 90 per cent full, while intensive care units in several areas were nearing 100 per cent capacity and 30 doctors had died in June from Covid-19.

"If there is no firm intervention, we will be like India," said Dr Adib Khumaidi, head of the IDI's mitigation team, noting the surge in cases in the South Asian nation in April and May and the "collapse" of its healthcare system.