Indonesia going for new curbs amid record virus surge

By Nicky Aulia Widadio

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – New limits are set to be imposed in Indonesia as coronavirus cases surged to a record high on Wednesday.

Starting Jan. 11, restrictions will come into force for two weeks in parts of Bali and Indonesia’s most populous island of Java, a government official said.

Some of the measures include changes in operating hours for malls and capacity limits for restaurants and worship places, according to Airlangga Hartarto, who heads Indonesia’s Working Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery.

He said provincial governors will make the final decisions on regulations for their respective areas.

The move comes as Indonesia’s single-day case count jumped to 8,854, raising the total to 788,402.

At least 187 more fatalities pushed the death toll up to 23,296, according to latest Health Ministry figures.

Recoveries grew 6,767 to reach 652,513, leaving the number of active COVID-19 cases at 112,593.

At 2,402, the capital Jakarta’s daily case count also hit a new peak, while 1,470 more infections were recorded in West Java and 1,023 in Central Java.

East Java’s infections tally was comparatively lower at 845, but its fatality count of 54 was the highest among all regions.

* Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian-language service in Jakarta