Coronavirus: Indonesia cases highest since February; South Korea exempts some vaccinated travellers from quarantine
- Indonesia is nearing 2 million total cases and is bracing for a peak after the Eid al-Fitr festival last month
- Elsewhere, South Korea will allow certain travellers vaccinated out of the country to skip quarantine, while Bangkok is slowly reopening
Total infections are 1,911,358, while 149 Covid-19 fatalities were recorded, taking the total to 52,879.
The sprawling archipelago of 270 million people is bracing for a peak in coronavirus infections after the Eid al-Fitr religious festival last month that saw millions travel to visit family and friends.
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“I hope this programme will keep continuing until all the people in this town get fully vaccinated,” said Delvi, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, after getting a vaccine shot on the bus. “It is closer and easier than the vaccination centre.”
The government of Pekanbaru, capital of Riau province, said the buses have administered 12,000 doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine and are giving more than 1,000 shots a day. Authorities say they plan to increase the number of buses but have not said by how many.
Despite the interest in the bus project, authorities say they must fight misinformation about Covid-19 vaccinations. “We saw some people had doubts about getting vaccinated because of fake news,” said district chief Said Ahmad Zamzami.
“We inform them not to believe that and this vaccine is good for our immune system. People are also more convinced now because myself, as the head of the district, also participated,” he said before getting his shot.
Indonesia plans to vaccinate 181.5 million people by next year. Only 11.57 million Indonesians have received two shots of the vaccines in use there: Sinovac, China’s Sinopharm, or the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
South Korea quarantine exemption
The new policy will apply only to certain people, such as citizens and foreign residents, as well as those coming to visit family, or for the purpose of business, academics or public interest, said Son Young-rae, an official with the Central Disaster Management Headquarters.
Exempt travellers will need to fill out an application, and still need to be tested before and after arriving in South Korea. Some travellers from countries with major outbreaks or variants will not be allowed to skip the quarantine, he added.
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South Korea reported 452 more cases as of midnight on Saturday, bringing total infections to 147,874, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The death toll in the country stands at 1,985.
More than 11.8 million people – 23 per cent of the country’s population – have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the KDCA.
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Vietnam approves Pfizer shot
Last week, the ministry stated it had secured a deal to get 31 million Pfizer vaccine doses this year.
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The vaccine, produced with Germany’s BioNTech and called Comirnaty, is developed from the messenger RNA, or mRNA, which consists of genetic instructions for human cells to make just a fragment of the coronavirus.
Vietnam said it expects to receive 120 million vaccine doses in 2021, nearly 39 million of which will be provided through the World Health Organization’s COVAX initiative.
The southeast Asian nation has been praised for its response to the pandemic, yet after a month without any community transmission of the virus, local transmission cases emerged again on April 27, with 7,039 cases reported since then. The country reported a total of 259 local Covid-19 cases on Saturday, as Ho Chi Minh City’s number peaked at 84, becoming the worst hit location of the pandemic.
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Bangkok to allow more businesses to reopen
Thailand’s outbreak epicentre of Bangkok will allow some aesthetics-related businesses to reopen after its worst wave of infections improved and more people are vaccinated.
Beauty clinics, foot massage services, nail salons and tattoo parlours can resume operations from Monday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said late on Saturday. People will also regain access to parks, botanical gardens and museums in the city.
“After a careful consideration, the relaxation can go ahead as planned,” he said. “The outbreak situation is now at a controllable level and residents of Bangkok, especially those in these businesses, have already received vaccinations.”
The health ministry on Sunday reported 2,804 new cases and 18 deaths. That is down from a record of nearly 10,000 new cases in a day in May.
Bangkok remains the virus hotspot of Thailand’s current outbreak, accounting for about a third of new infections since the resurgence in early April and with new clusters still being detected. But authorities have been ramping up vaccinations for the city’s residents, with 1.6 million shots administered, enough for nearly 10 per cent of its population, compared to about 4 per cent nationwide.
Reporting by Reuters, Bloomberg
