With 50,000 cases a day, UK opens up while Indonesia suffers

Caption A student reacts as he receives a dose of the vaccine during a mass vaccination program at a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station, as Covid-19cases surge in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 23, 2021. - Reuters

MANILA (Bloomberg): The pandemic has a new epicentre, with Indonesia taking the lead in the dismal Covid-19 stakes after a recent streak of 50,000 infections a day.

The surge in the world’s fourth-most populous country is being accompanied by what are now tragically familiar stories. Hospitals are short of life-saving oxygen and drugs, and people are dying alone, their loved ones absent or behind protective screens. Indonesia is seeing more than 1,000 virus fatalities every day.