Indonesia's health system on the brink as Covid-19 surge looms

Indonesian medical staff prepare a room for patients at the 2018 Asian Games athlete's village which has been converted into a hospital for coronavirus patients in Jakarta on March 23, 2020. - AFP

JAKARTA (Reuters): Indonesia has a significant deficit in hospital beds, medical staff and intensive care facilities as health experts warn that it is primed to become a new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data reviewed by Reuters.

Health experts say Indonesia faces a surge in coronavirus cases after a slow government response masked the scale of the outbreak in the world's fourth most populous country.