Indonesia drops year-end Covid-19 curbs on better vaccination, testing

Jakarta

INDONESIA cancelled its planned restrictions for the year-end period as its Covid-19 vaccination coverage and testing capacity has improved.

The government will not impose the second-highest level of restrictions, or Level 3, across the country and will instead order varied curbs depending on the local situation, said Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Panjaitan, who is overseeing the pandemic response.

Travel is limited to only those who are fully vaccinated.

Indonesia had earlier ordered the restrictions as previous holiday seasons have led to spikes in Covid-19 cases.

The government had previously told governors to stop all workers, including private-sector employees, from taking leave from Dec 24 till Jan 2. It also urged schools to cancel their year-end break.

The country's vaccination coverage remains relatively low compared to other countries in the region, with about 53 per cent of people receiving at least the first dose and 37 per cent fully inoculated.

The Covid-19 daily case numbers are hovering near the lowest in more than a year, with fewer than 10 fatalities in the last 4 days.

The government has ramped up testing to keep the positivity rate, the proportion of those tested who turn out to have been infected with the coronavirus, at 0.2 per cent. That is much lower than the World Health Organization's recommendation for the rate to be below 5 per cent. BLOOMBERG