Advertisement
Coronavirus pandemic
AsiaSoutheast Asia

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

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
A man receives a Covid-19 shot inside a public bus which is being used as a vaccination venue, outside the Madani hospital in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia. Photo: Reuters
Agencies
Indonesia on Sunday reported 9,868 Covid-19 daily infections, the highest figure since February 22, the Covid-19 task force said.

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.

Meanwhile, an Indonesian city is bringing Covid-19 vaccines to its people with a growing fleet of inoculation buses. Authorities in Pekanbaru on the island of Sumatra have doubled to 10 the number of buses in its vaccination programme since launching it on June 1, following a favourable response from the public.

“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.

Advertisement