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Indonesia reports record 346 Covid-19 deaths in a day

This article is more than 12 months old

JAKARTA : Indonesia reported 346 deaths from Covid-19 yesterday, hitting a new record for the second time this week, as hospitals come under increasing strain.

Data from Indonesia's Covid-19 task force showed that deaths now total 27,203, while infections reached 951,651, among the highest in Asia.

The record fatalities and sharp rise in daily cases come amid warnings that the situation could imminently worsen in Indonesia's hospitals.

"Hospitals could collapse in the coming days if they are not managed," said data initiative group Lapor Covid-19 co-founder Irma Hidayana.

Capacity of isolation beds at Covid-19 referral hospitals in Jakarta had reached 87 per cent and intensive care unit beds were 82 per cent occupied, data from the city government showed as of Jan 17.

Nearly 40 Covid-19 patients had been turned away from Jakarta hospitals since the end of December, the group's findings show. Task force epidemiologist Dewi Nur Aisyah said this week that recorded deaths by mid-January were higher than the average of previous months. Indonesia recorded 3,849 deaths from Jan 1 to Jan 17.

Meanwhile, Malaysia extended the movement control order for six states and territories until Feb 4 as infections remained high. The six are Penang, Selangor, Johor, Sabah, Melaka, Kelantan, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.

Malaysia yesterday recorded 3,170 cases, bringing the total to 172,549. There were 12 deaths taking the toll to 642. - REUTERS, THE STAR

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