Curbs expanded nationwide

Lifeline: Workers for an oxygen supply company preparing cylinders for distribution in Semarang, Central Java, amid a surging demand for oxygen due to a record spike of infections. — AFP

THE country expanded nationwide Covid-19 curbs to battle its deadliest Covid-19 wave yet, as the death toll rocketed with the government warning that the worst may be yet to come.

The new restrictions would apply to dozens of cities and extend from Sumatra island in the west to easternmost Papua as the highly infectious Delta variant rips across the South-East Asian archipelago after battering densely populated Java.