“We’re seeing a record number of infections, but every statistic is a person suffering, grieving, or struggling to support the people they love,” said Sudirman Said, general secretary of the Indonesian Red Cross, in a statement. “Our medical teams provide life-saving care, with hospitals running to the brim and critically low oxygen supplies.”
The surge in Indonesia, the fourth most populous nation in the world, has been attributed in part to the delta variant of the virus, which was first discovered in India and is believed to be more contagious. Indonesia reported more than 20,600 new cases and more than 400 deaths on Monday.
Indonesia has recorded more than 2.1 million cases and more than 57,500 deaths since the pandemic began, most of which are in Southeast Asia.
Less than 5% of adults in the country of 270 million people are fully vaccinated. The Red Cross called for global action so that countries like Indonesia can get the vaccines they need.
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Associated Press writer Victoria Milko contributed to this report.
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