Indonesia’s Covid death toll crosses 100,000-mark

Jakarta, Aug 4 (EFE).- Indonesia, one of the global epicenters of the Covid-19 pandemic, on Wednesday crossed the grim milestone of registering 100,000 deaths by the disease, while the number of infections has crossed 3.5 million as authorities try to overhaul the vaccination strategy to tackle the virulent Delta variant of the virus.

The health ministry on Wednesday reported 1,747 fresh deaths, taking the overall death toll to 100,636, although experts have said that the real number of deaths amongst a population of 270 million could be much higher.

Indonesia registered 34,251 new infections in the past 24 hours, a figure that shows a declining trend in the outbreak in recent weeks after the daily caseload had crossed 50,000 at one point.

However the health system continues to be stretched to the limit, while the immunization campaign has been progressing slower than expected.

The virulence of the Delta variant has led to government official admitting that achieving herd immunity through vaccination seems an unrealistic target at the moment, and authorities have focused on restrictive measures to reduce infections.

On Monday President Joko Widodo extended the restrictions for another week until Aug . 9.

The restrictions, including curbs on traveling and advise to work from home, came into force on Jul. 3 initially for Java and Bali islands, and were later extended to other cities across the Indonesian archipelago.

Meanwhile, the vaccination campaign is lagging behind the target rates with just 21 million people, or 10 percent of the eligible population, fully vaccinated.

About 48 million people, or 23 percent of the adult residents, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The high mortality rate among children, with more than 800 minors being killed by the disease since the beginning of the pandemic, has also raised concerns in the country. EFE