As Indonesia mulls easing lockdown, WHO urges tougher restrictions

Health workers from the military wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) spray disinfectant on their bags amid a surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Surabaya, East Java Province, Indonesia July 19, 2021, in this photo taken by Antara Foto/Muhammad Adimaja via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday urged Indonesia to implement a stricter and wider lockdown to combat surging COVID-19 infections and deaths, just days after the country's president flagged the easing of restrictions.

Indonesia has become one of the epicentres of the global pandemic in recent weeks, with positive COVID-19 cases leaping fivefold in the past five weeks. This week, daily deaths hit record highs over 1,400, among the highest tolls in the world.