Indonesia exceeds 1 million COVID-19 cases

Jakarta, Jan 26 (efe-epa).- Indonesia, the country most affected by the novel coronavirus in Southeast Asia, exceeded 1 million COVID-19 infections Tuesday, including more than 28,400 deaths, as it continues its vaccination logistical challenges across its more than 6,000 inhabited islands.

Authorities announced 13,094 new infections throughout the country Tuesday, as well as travel restrictions to the tourist island of Bali and flights in and out of Java, the most populated island in the country, to try to control the increase in cases.

However, the low number of tests raises concerns that cases will be even higher amid the strong pressure that the health system is already under due to the high number of patients.

The inoculation campaign began Jan. 13 with the administration of the first doses of the vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac to health workers in the country, the fourth most populated in the world with 270 million inhabitants.

The vaccine has been certified as halal (suitable for Muslims) in this country, which also hosts the largest number of people of Islamic faith in the world.

As of April, authorities expect to also receive vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca.

The country expects to receive most of the vaccines throughout the second half of the year and, according to its initial plans, looks to complete the inoculation of two thirds of its population, 181.5 million people, by March 2022. EFE-EPA

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