Vaccinated people need to mask again, says America; Indonesia reports record 2,069 virus deaths

Jakarta: Indonesia reported a record 2,069 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours on Tuesday as it faces its deadliest Covid-19 surge since the pandemic began.

The grim tally was nearly 600 deaths higher than the previous day and topped last week’s daily record of 1,566 deaths, the health ministry said. New infections also shot up to just over 45,000, from about 28,000 on Monday.

The eye-watering data comes after the Southeast Asian nation this week loosened virus curbs by allowing small shops, streetside restaurants and some shopping malls to reopen after a three-week partial lockdown. Health experts had warned that could trigger a fresh wave of cases, as the highly infectious Delta variant rips across the vast archipelago, which has overtaken India and Brazil to become the global pandemic epicentre.

Shopping malls and mosques in less affected parts of the Muslim-majority nation also got the green light to open their doors from Monday, to limited crowds and with shorter hours. Offices were still under shutdown orders.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation where tens of millions live hand to mouth, has avoided strict lockdowns seen in some other countries. But the government has been widely criticised for its handling of the pandemic and policies that critics say prioritised Southeast Asia’s largest economy over public health.

President Joko Widodo has pointed to falling daily infection and hospital occupancy rates, including in the hard-hit capital Jakarta, as justification for the easing. But the Delta variant has been detected in about a dozen regions outside Jakarta, densely populated Java and Bali, where infections have also soared in recent weeks.

Nearly 19,000 foreign nationals have left Indonesia through Jakarta’s main international airport since early July, an exodus led by Japanese and Chinese expatriates, with 2,962 and 2,219 departures respectively, the immigration department said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic must reopen as soon as possible, the United Nations insisted on Tuesday, estimating that the education of more than 600 million children was at stake.

"This cannot go on," James Elder, spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), told reporters in Geneva. While acknowledging the difficult choices that governments have to make when facing the Covid-19 crisis and the possible spread of the disease, "schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen," he said, calling it a "terrible mistake" to reopen bars and pubs before schools.

"Reopening schools cannot wait for all teachers and students to be vaccinated," he added, calling on governments to protect their education budgets despite the economic hardship caused by the pandemic.

While children in the northern hemisphere are on their summer holidays, in eastern and southern Africa, an estimated 40 percent of school-age children are currently out of school. Across that region, schools are being closed due to Covid-19 surges, with more than 32 million children estimated to be out of school due to pandemic-related closures or having failed to return after their classrooms reopened.

That comes on top of the estimated 37 million children who were out of school before Covid-19 struck. In nearly half the countries in Asia and the Pacific, schools have been closed for more than 200 days during the pandemic.

In South America and the Caribbean, there are 18 countries and territories where schools are either closed or partially closed, Elder said. Around the world, "education, safety, friends and food have been replaced by anxiety, violence, and teenage pregnancy", he said.

Citing Uganda, he said that between March 2020 and June 2021, there was a more than 20 percent increase in pregnancy among 10 to 24-year-olds. Remote learning remains out of reach for a third of pupils around the world, UNICEF said.

In southeast Asia and the Pacific, 80 million children had no access to remote learning while their school was closed. In a related development, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to issue new guidance on Tuesday saying that people vaccinated against Covid-19 need to wear masks indoors in some circumstances, according to reports.

The shift comes as the Delta variant is driving a sharp surge in cases, with hotspots in regions that have lagged behind in vaccinations. Top health officials huddled Sunday night to discuss the issue, according to CNN, and the change is expected to be announced at a briefing by CDC director Rochelle Walensky at 3:00 pm Eastern (1900 GMT). The Washington Post also reported the development.

As recently as last week the CDC defended its decision, announced in May, to say vaccinated people do not require masks indoors in most circumstances, with exceptions including public transit and hospitals.