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Oxygen prices in the Indonesian capital more than doubled, and some suppliers reported a shortage of infection rates on Tuesday after a spike in COVID-19 cases prompted the Red Cross to warn of a coronavirus “disaster” in Southeast Asia’s largest country.
Indonesia, which like many other countries deals with the most transmissible delta variant, has reported more than 20,000 daily COVID-19 infections in recent days.
With hospitals in the capital, Jakarta, full, and patients turned away, some people have sought to secure oxygen for infected family members at home. Suppliers said the price of the oxygen tank jumped to $140 from the usual price of $50.
“I am lining up here now to refill oxygen for my wife and son who have now contracted COVID-19,” said Tawfiq Hedayat, 51, at a supplier. “I walked around and everything was sold out.”
Vendors in other parts of Jakarta told Reuters that their stocks had also dried up.
But Solong Mulia Putra, an official at the Jakarta Health Agency, said the hospital shortage was temporary due to distribution problems that had been resolved.
“Distributors don’t have enough transportation, so hospitals will get help from the police, the Parks Agency and the Red Cross to transport the oxygen,” he said.
Hospitals in several areas designated in the “red zone” have reported overcapacity, including Jakarta, with isolation beds 93 percent occupied as of Sunday.
“Hospitals are full due to the increase in cases caused by mobility and the easing of adherence to the health protocol, which was also exacerbated by the delta variable,” said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a senior official at the Ministry of Health.
The spread of the delta variant has raised fears of a crisis in the world’s fourth most populous country on a scale that in recent months in India, where the variant was first discovered.
“Every day we are witnessing this variant of the delta leading Indonesia to the brink of the COVID-19 catastrophe,” said Jan Gelfand, head of the Indonesian delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Indonesia relies on mass vaccinations to beat the virus, but only 13.3 million of the 181.5 million targeted for vaccinations have received the two required doses.
-From Reuters, last updated at 8:30 a.m. ET
What’s happening all over Canada
Government officials and ministers address Canadians about COVID-19. 0:00
As of 11:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had reported 1,414,530 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 7,641 active cases. CBC News’ death toll is 26,267. More than 36.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far across the country, according to the CBC Vaccine Tracker.
In Atlantic Canada on Tuesday, Prince Edward Island It reported one new case of COVID-19. The new case is the only active infection reported in the county.
Nova Scotia It also reported a new case of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus on Tuesday. The county’s premier, Ian Rankin, and chief medical officer, Robert Strang, are scheduled to provide an update on COVID-19 in the county later in the day.
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador And the New bronze No updates yet provided for today.
at QuebecAs COVID-19 restrictions were further relaxed on Monday, health officials on Tuesday reported 71 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths.
Ontario On Tuesday, it reported 299 new COVID-19 cases and 25 additional deaths.
In a statement, a regional spokesperson said that because the data was “reviewed and cleaned up” Tuesday’s numbers include “90 cases from 2020 that were included in the Toronto case count.”
“In addition, 19 deaths from previous months have been included,” the statement said.
Across the North, no new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Nunavut Tuesday. Health officials in Northwest Territories And the Yukon No updates yet provided for today. However, Yukon health officials reported 24 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the majority of them in Whitehorse.
“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to increase the number of cases. We must all prepare ourselves for things to look different over the coming weeks,” Yukon Chief of Health Dr. Brendan Hanley said in a statement.
In the prairie counties on Monday, Manitoba No new deaths and 61 new cases of COVID-19 were reported. Dr. Brent Rosen, the county’s chief public health official, urged people to keep contacts low even as the number of cases decreased.
“We’re still seeing transmission, we’re still reporting cases, we’re still – unfortunately – reporting serious results, and we still have people in the hospital,” Rosen said Monday.
A new study led by researchers from the University of Oxford suggests that mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines generates good protection against the coronavirus. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogosh explains what this might mean for Canadians. 4:08
at Saskatchewan, health officials reported no new deaths Monday and 17 additional cases of COVID-19, the lowest daily case number the county has seen since October.
Alberta Health officials on Monday reported 31 new cases of COVID-19. The county, which has been releasing numbers over the weekend, also reported two additional deaths.
at British Columbia, health officials reported Monday 38 new cases of COVID-19. The update, which covered the weekend, also included five additional deaths.
— From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 11:45 a.m. ET
What is happening around the world
As of early Tuesday morning, more than 181.4 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide, according to a coronavirus tracking tool maintained by US-based Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll was more than 3.9 million.
In the the Americas, The United States said it will donate one million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to Paraguay.
Meanwhile, Colombia said it would receive a US donation of 2.5 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Janssen, the pharmaceutical unit of Johnson & Johnson.
In the Asia Pacific Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has extended restrictions on movement and business in the capital and neighboring provinces until mid-July and kept stricter restrictions in the central and southern regions, an official said on Tuesday.
Australia reported a slight rise in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, while officials in several states tightened movement restrictions and pushed for vaccinations to curb the outbreak of the highly contagious delta virus. Months after nearly eradicating the virus, alternative Australia is battling in five of its eight states and territories, just two weeks after hitting a major city in Sydney that included an outbound airline crew limousine driver.
at EuropeOn Tuesday, Russian authorities reported 652 new coronavirus deaths – the highest daily toll in the pandemic. This new record comes as Russia struggles to deal with an increase in the number of infections and deaths and a drop in the rate of vaccinations. Although Russia was among the first countries to announce and deploy a coronavirus vaccine, only about 14 percent of the population received at least one injection.
Greece will offer its young people a 150-euro (approximately $220 CAD) cash card and a free month of phone data to get their first COVID-19 dose, in a government drive to increase vaccination rates in the run-up to the holidays.
COVID-19 infection in Africa Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said previous peaks are likely to be exceeded within days, underscoring the urgent need to accelerate vaccine supplies and financing for the region.
President Samia Solo Hassan said Tanzania will spend 470 million US dollars to purchase vaccines and support economic sectors hit hard by the coronavirus.
In the Middle eastAbu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates, has announced that a wide range of public places will soon be available only to those who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in a bid to encourage more people to get injections.
The UAE government said on Monday that from August 20, the authorities will start restricting access to shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, sports activities, museums, gyms, schools and universities. Virtually unvaccinated people will be barred from entering any businesses in the city except for supermarkets and pharmacies.
Abu Dhabi has already launched a “green corridor” system that limits public access to those who get the shot or can show a negative virus test result.
This comes at a time when the country is increasingly betting on economic re-opening on a rapid vaccination campaign. The government says at least 93 percent of Abu Dhabi residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
— From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 7:05 a.m. ET
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