Coronavirus: Indonesia faces virus ‘time bomb’ after Eid; Thai prison cluster widens
- Thailand reported 9,635 new daily infections on Monday, the highest-single day increase since the pandemic began
- Elsewhere, India’s daily cases fell below 300,000 for the first time in weeks, while New Zealand opened a travel bubble with the Cook Islands
Each year millions of Indonesians fan out across the sprawling archipelago after Ramadan to celebrate Eid au-Fitr and visit extended families, in a tradition known as mudik.
To try and avoid mass transmission of the virus, the authorities banned travel between May 6 and 17, during the Eid period, but government data suggests that at least 1.5 million people left their homes ahead of the ban.
On Monday, police were stopping cars at checkpoints around Jakarta in an attempt to identify and isolate positive cases. They were asking people about their travels, requesting to see test results and instructing some people to undergo tests.
“I don’t think these tests and roadblocks can hold down the infection numbers,” said returning traveller Trisna Hudaya, 59. “But maybe it can help to control and track.”
Indonesia risks India-style Covid-19 surge as millions skirt Eid travel ban
With more than 1.7 million confirmed cases and 48,000 deaths since the pandemic began, Indonesia has been the worst-hit country in Southeast Asia. However, it has not experienced a crisis as bad as that seen in India – although some health experts are concerned such a scenario is possible.
Low testing and contact tracing, and a positivity rate consistently above 10 per cent, mean while case numbers have come off their worst levels in the country, Indonesia appears far from having Covid-19 under control.
Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Australia’s Griffith University, warned of a coronavirus “time bomb” that any “superspreading or super-strain event” could trigger.
So far Indonesia has had luck, but the luck will not last
“So far Indonesia has had luck, but the luck will not last. I believe in one to three months ahead we will have a very serious situation,” he said.
The recent identification of potentially more transmissible virus variants, including eight cases of a variant first detected in India, are generating more concerns.
“The Indian tragedy … I hope it won’t happen, but if I say it won’t happen, that would be too naive, dishonest,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a seminar on Monday. “I’m worried in some spots there will be a surge.”
Thailand reports highest daily case increase yet
The country reported 9,635 new infections, the highest-single day increase since the pandemic began, with 6,853 cases coming from prison clusters alone.
What Asia’s scramble for mRNA production facilities means for the future
The country approved Moderna’s shots for emergency use last week as it seeks to boost its orders to about 100 million doses to vaccinate about 70 per cent of the adult population by the end of the year.
Although daily cases continue to increase, the Thai government has relaxed some of its restrictions to boost economic activity.
A ban on dine-in services in regions considered high-risk for infections, including Bangkok, has been eased from Monday. But the country still enforces a nationwide mask mandate and a ban on large gatherings.
04:12
What do we know so far about the Covid-19 variants?
South Korea cases rise
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) recorded 619 new cases and three fatalities, bringing the death toll to 1,903.
The country earlier said it planned to vaccinate 13 million people by June, or one-quarter of its population. As of Monday, 940,345 people, or 1.8 per cent of the population, had been fully vaccinated, Yonhap reported.
President Moon’s White House visit will confirm ‘ironclad alliance’
South Korea has recently been floated as a possible vaccine production hub in Asia, as investments from foreign pharmaceutical firms rise.
02:39
Doctors in India warn against using cow dung as Covid-19 therapy
India’s recorded cases drop but vaccination woes continue
The health ministry said about 280,000 cases and 4,106 deaths were confirmed in the last 24 hours. Both numbers are almost certainly undercounts.
India’s overall vaccination efforts are also struggling. Ever since the country opened vaccinations to all adults this month, the pace of administering doses has plunged, with many states saying they do not have enough stock.
Over the last month, cases have tripled and deaths have jumped by six times – but vaccinations have dropped by 40 per cent.
The southern state of Karnataka has suspended vaccinations for the 18 to 44 age group in government-run centres, and a number of states are looking into directly getting shots from overseas to fill a domestic shortage.
On Sunday, health officials said about 5 million doses would be sent to the states this week.
India has the world’s second-highest caseload with more than 24 million confirmed infections and over 270,000 fatalities.
01:39
Panic buying in Taiwan as new Covid-19 rules imposed amid spike in coronavirus infections
New Zealand opens travel bubble with Cook Islands
The Cook Islands has opened its border for the first time in more than a year, with New Zealanders able to visit the small Pacific nation from Monday.
The “travel bubble” allows New Zealanders and Cook Islanders to travel between both countries without the need to quarantine.
While the bubble officially commenced on Monday, the first flight does not depart from New Zealand until Tuesday.
Hong Kong tightens rules for Taiwan arrivals, Singapore and Japan may be next
Air New Zealand will fly to the Cook Islands two to three times weekly, but is expected to operate daily from July in time for the school holidays.
New Zealand has had a similar arrangement in place with Australia since mid-April.
The Cook Islands has never recorded a Covid-19 case, while New Zealand on Sunday reported one new imported case, bringing the number of active cases to 19. The country has seen a total of 2,290 cases and 26 deaths.
Australian cricketers flee coronavirus-hit India
Australian cricketers on Monday landed in Sydney on a charter flight, more than a week after fleeing Covid-stricken India for the Maldives, local media reported.
Cricket authorities had been rushing to evacuate players and support staff after the lucrative Indian Premier League was suspended earlier this month as coronavirus cases surged in the country.
Players including Steve Smith and David Warner were on board an Air Seychelles plane that touched down in Sydney about 7.30am, national broadcaster ABC reported.
A group of 38 players, coaches, officials and TV commentators had reportedly been staying in the Maldives, after leaving India on May 6 aboard a charter flight arranged and paid for by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Two days ago, the Australian government lifted a temporary ban that threatened citizens attempting to return from India with jail, paving the way for the group to return.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that the cricketers had not been given any special treatment, and would be coming back “under their own steam, on their own ticket”.
They are now expected to undergo 14 days of quarantine in a Sydney hotel, as part of strict border controls that have largely contained the spread of the virus in Australia.
Reporting by Bloomberg, dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters, Korea Times
