Indonesia runs low on oxygen as virus surges

Other nations taking steps to curb rising case numbers

People wait for their turn to refill their oxygen tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday, July 9, 2021. Just two months ago, Indonesia was helping India by supplying it with thousands tanks of oxygen. Now, the Southeast Asia country is running out of oxygen as it endures a wave of coronavirus cases, and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP/Tatan Syuflana)
People wait for their turn to refill their oxygen tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday, July 9, 2021. Just two months ago, Indonesia was helping India by supplying it with thousands tanks of oxygen. Now, the Southeast Asia country is running out of oxygen as it endures a wave of coronavirus cases, and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP/Tatan Syuflana)

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Just two months ago, Indonesia was going to India's aid with thousands of tanks of oxygen.

Today, the Southeast Asian country is running out of oxygen as it endures a wave of coronavirus cases, and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China.

A shipment of more than 1,000 oxygen cylinders, concentrators, ventilators and other health devices arrived from Singapore on Friday, followed by another 1,000 ventilators from Australia, said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the government minister in charge of Indonesia's pandemic response.

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Beside those donations, Indonesia plans to buy 36,000 tons of oxygen and 10,000 concentrators -- devices that generate oxygen -- from Singapore, Pandjaitan said.

He said he is in touch with China and other potential oxygen sources. The U.S. and the United Arab Emirates also have offered help.

Overall, Indonesia has reported more than 2.4 million infections and 64,631 fatalities from covid-19. Those figures are believed to be a vast undercount due to low testing and poor tracing measures. Indonesia reported 1,040 deaths on Wednesday and nearly 39,000 confirmed cases on Thursday and Friday.

Hospitals are swamped, with growing numbers of the ill dying in isolation at home or while waiting to receive emergency care.

On Java, Indonesia's most populous island, hospitals began setting up makeshift intensive care units in mid-June. Many patients are waiting for days to be admitted. Oxygen tanks were rolled out onto sidewalks for those lucky enough to get them, while others have been told they have to find their own.

Emergency rooms at a public hospital in Bandung city closed last week after running out of oxygen amid panic-buying fueled by soaring infections in the West Java provincial capital, said Yaya Mulyana, the city's deputy mayor.

"Panicked people bought oxygen tanks even though they didn't need them yet," Mulyana said. "That has led to oxygen supplies running out."

At one hospital in Yogyakarta, in central Java, 63 covid-19 patients died in one day -- 33 of them during an outage of the central liquid oxygen supply, though the hospital had switched to using oxygen cylinders, spokesman Banu Hermawan said.

The daily need for oxygen has reached 1,928 tons a day. The country's total available production capacity is 2,262 tons a day, according to government data.

"I asked for 100% of oxygen to go to medical purposes first, meaning that all industrial allocations must be transferred to medical," said Pandjaitan, the government minister. "We are racing against time; we have to work fast."

THAILAND RESTRICTIONS

Thailand, meanwhile, is tightening virus-containment measures, imposing a ban on gatherings of more than five people and nonessential travel, along with an overnight curfew to quell a worsening covid-19 outbreak.

Restrictions on movement from 9 p.m.-4 a.m. will cover the Bangkok metropolitan area and four southern provinces with the highest infections, according to a statement published in the Royal Gazette on Saturday. Limited services and operating hours for restaurants and shopping malls, closures of spas and beauty clinics, and a ban on large gatherings will be implemented in Bangkok and surrounding districts. The measures will be in effect from Monday until at least July 25, the statement said.

The move to tighten restrictions follows a surge in infections and hospitalizations that has stretched the nation's health care system, especially in Bangkok, the outbreak's epicenter. The government earlier resisted a lockdown to avoid hurting the economy, targeting its curbs on construction-worker camps and night-entertainment venues, where large clusters of infections have been reported.

Thailand has seen a more than 10-fold surge in infections since early April, and it reported 9,326 new cases Saturday, the second-highest single-day increase since the pandemic began. Authorities also announced 91 fatalities during the past 24 hours, the most in a day.

CASES IN MEXICO

Mexico is entering its third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, as infections rose by 29% compared with the previous week.

But the country's health department said Friday that the growth is largely coming from infections among younger, less vulnerable people. Case numbers are now as high as they were at the beginning of the previous surge in September; that wave peaked in January, and numbers steadily declined until June.

But at present, only about 22% of the country's hospital beds are occupied; hospital beds in many parts of the country were essentially filled to capacity during the previous wave.

Authorities said the relative decline of serious cases among older people is a result of the country's vaccination campaign, which as of Friday has given at least one dose to about 39% of all adults.

Mexico City health authorities said they expect the third wave to peak in August in the capital, which has been the worst-hit by covid-19 in the previous two waves.

Mexico has suffered almost 235,000 test-confirmed deaths, but because the country does so little testing, the government's figures on excess deaths suggest the true toll is around 360,000.

PROOF OF VACCINATION

The Mediterranean island nation of Malta is requiring proof of coronavirus vaccination for visitors 13 and up, making it the first European Union nation to do so.

Starting Wednesday, visitors to Malta must present a covid-19 vaccination certificate that is recognized by Maltese health authorities, meaning certificates issued by Malta, the EU or the United Kingdom.

The EU's green passport program certifies people who are fully vaccinated, but also those who receive a negative polymerase chain reaction test result or have recovered from covid-19. But Malta has decided to only recognize those who are fully vaccinated in hopes of stemming a recent rise in confirmed coronavirus cases.

Malta, which has a population of just over half a million, had 46 active cases on July 1 and 252 active cases as of Friday. The country has reported nearly 31,000 cases and 420 deaths in the pandemic.

The Maltese government says 90% of its new covid-19 cases are among unvaccinated people. Currently, 79% of Maltese adults have been fully vaccinated.

Health Minister Chris Fearne said most of the new infections were linked to travel. Several cases were identified in English-language teaching schools, and the Italian Foreign Ministry said Saturday that "a growing number" of Italians -- most of them minors -- were among them.

Information for this article was contributed by Niniek Karmini of The Associated Press and by Randy Thanthong-Knight and Prim Chuwiruch of Bloomberg News (TNS).

In this photo released by Indonesian Armed Forces, a military personnel uses a forklift to unload relief goods from a Singaporean Air Force cargo plane at Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (Indonesian Armed Forces via AP)
In this photo released by Indonesian Armed Forces, a military personnel uses a forklift to unload relief goods from a Singaporean Air Force cargo plane at Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (Indonesian Armed Forces via AP)
In this photo released by Indonesian Armed Forces, a military personnel uses a forklift to unload relief goods from a Singaporean Air Force cargo plane at Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (Indonesian Armed Forces via AP)
In this photo released by Indonesian Armed Forces, a military personnel uses a forklift to unload relief goods from a Singaporean Air Force cargo plane at Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (Indonesian Armed Forces via AP)
A paramedic pushes an oxygen tank at the emergency ward of an overcrowded hospital amid COVID-19 cases, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
A paramedic pushes an oxygen tank at the emergency ward of an overcrowded hospital amid COVID-19 cases, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
Oxygen tanks are prepared for patients in the hallway of an overcrowded hospital amid a surge of COVID-19 cases, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
Oxygen tanks are prepared for patients in the hallway of an overcrowded hospital amid a surge of COVID-19 cases, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
A woman carries her oxygen tank after having it refilled at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
A woman carries her oxygen tank after having it refilled at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
People wait for their turn to refill their oxygen tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
People wait for their turn to refill their oxygen tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. The world's fourth most populous country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
A man leaves with his full oxygen canister as others wait to refill their tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. Just two months ago, Indonesia was coming to a gasping India's aid with thousands tanks of oxygen. Now, the Southeast Asia country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
A man leaves with his full oxygen canister as others wait to refill their tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. Just two months ago, Indonesia was coming to a gasping India's aid with thousands tanks of oxygen. Now, the Southeast Asia country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
People wait for their turn to refill their oxygen tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. Just two months ago, Indonesia was coming to a gasping India's aid with thousands tanks of oxygen. Now, the Southeast Asia country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
People wait for their turn to refill their oxygen tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. Just two months ago, Indonesia was coming to a gasping India's aid with thousands tanks of oxygen. Now, the Southeast Asia country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
People wait for their turn to refill their oxygen tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. Just two months ago, Indonesia was coming to a gasping India's aid with thousands tanks of oxygen. Now, the Southeast Asia country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
People wait for their turn to refill their oxygen tanks at a recharging station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. Just two months ago, Indonesia was coming to a gasping India's aid with thousands tanks of oxygen. Now, the Southeast Asia country is running out of oxygen as it endures a devastating wave of coronavirus cases and the government is seeking emergency supplies from other countries, including Singapore and China. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

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