Indonesian government moves to loosen restrictions amid mass deaths
Despite a surge in death rates, amid an uncontrolled outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19, the Indonesian government of President Joko Widodo is moving to loosen localised restrictions.
Last week, deaths due to COVID-19 broke record highs on four separate days, the heaviest toll being 1,566 on Friday. Daily fatalities were 1,487 on Monday, bringing total deaths in Indonesia, since the pandemic began, to more than 84,000. As the world epicentre of the virus, the death rate remains three times higher than the global average, according to Our World In Data.
Workers in protective gear lower a coffin of a COVID-19 victim for burial at the special section of the Pedurenan cemetery designated to accommodate the surge in deaths during the coronavirus outbreak in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia, Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Before the pandemic, five grandsons of Mamik Nariati received free vaccinations against diseases such as polio, mumps and hepatitis B in schools in Surabaya, East Java.
“But since the online school was opened last year, there have been no more immunization programs,” she told Al Jazeera.
Sarigita Andika Wati, the mother of three children in Tabanan Regency, Bali, has a similar story: “My children cannot go to school, so they cannot get free immunizations.”
According to data compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, 800,000 Indonesian children missed routine vaccination last year due to service disruptions due to the pandemic. These young people are one of them-an increase compared to the previous year By 40%.
Before the pandemic, Mamik Nariati’s five grandchildren were given free immunisations for diseases like polio, mumps and Hepatitis B at their school in the city of Surabaya in East Java.
“But since the online school started last year, there is no more immunisation programme,” she told Al Jazeera.
Sarigita Andika Wati, a mother of three in the Balinese regency of Tabanan, has a similar story: “My kids can’t go to school so they couldn’t get the free immunisations.”
The youngsters are among 800,000 Indonesian children who missed out on routine vaccinations last year due to pandemic service disruptions – a jump of 40 percent compared with the previous year – according to data compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.