Indonesia passes grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, has recorded a grim milestone of more than 100,000 deaths from corona virus on Wednesday.Data from the country's health ministry showed, with the Southeast Asian nation recently accounting for one in five fatalities globally, more than 3.5 million COVID-19 cases since March 2020.
July was its deadliest month since the pandemic began, with more than 30,100 deaths - more than triple the 7,914 reported in June. Its current per capita death rate is one of the worst in the region, second only to Myanmar. Indonesia has been battling a tide of corona virus infections and deaths driven by the highly contagious Delta variant for the past month, as the country has quickly become Asia's corona virus epicenter.
On Wednesday, the data showed Indonesia's total number of infections had reached 3.53 million, while deaths rose by 1,747 to 100,636, although public health experts believe the true toll is likely far higher. "Indonesia needs a comprehensive audit of COVID deaths," said Defriman Djafri, an epidemiologist at Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, citing a sub-optimal healthcare response.
Since the beginning of June, more than 2,800 people have died during self-isolation at home, according to LaporCOVID-19, an independent virus data group that keeps track of deaths at home. Some of those deaths are reflected in official figures but others are not, he said.
