Jakarta — The rise of the horrific Coronavirus cases have resulted in oxygen shortages in Indonesia, reported by the oxygen suppliers on Tuesday.
In recent days, Indonesia has reported daily COVID-19 infections of over 20,000 – a new wave driven by the development of highly communicable viral strains and increased mobility after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
With hospitals in Jakarta’s overflowing and victims being turned away, some individuals looked for ways to get oxygen for affected relatives at home. According to oxygen suppliers, the price of an oxygen tank has risen to $140 from the normal $50.
“It has been so difficult to refill my oxygen tank,” said Taufik Hidayat, 51 as he visited one oxygen supplier to another but only saw the “OXYGEN NOT AVAILABLE” boards everywhere.
Hospitals in many classified “red zone” regions, including Jakarta, have reported overcrowding, with 93 per cent of isolation beds full as of Sunday.
The emergence of the new Delta variant has caused major concerns as Indonesia is the 4th most populated country. People fear that the Indian disaster might be repeated in Indonesia.
Indonesia’s foreign affairs minister, Retno Marsudi, announced on Tuesday that Japan will donate two million shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Jul.
To combat the virus, Indonesia is relying on mass vaccinations, but only 13.3 million of the 181.5 million people targeted for immunisation have got a minimum of two doses.
In all, 104 million doses of coronavirus vaccination have been distributed in Indonesia. By Jan 2022, 181.5 million people out of a population of over 270 million would have been vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Indonesia confirmed 20,467 new infections and 463 new losses, bringing the total number of cases and deaths to 2,156,465 cases and 58,024 deaths.
Divyanshi Singh is an intern at The Independent SG /TISG.