Indonesia has become the center of COVID-19 in Asia, and hospitals are overwhelmed, especially on the densely populated islands of Java and Bali.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced that it will extend COVID-19 restrictions for a week to August 2 to curb the infection. Previously, the government said it would add more intensive care units amid rising deaths.

Indonesia has become the epicenter of COVID-19 in Asia, with hospitals flooding, especially on the densely populated islands of Java and Bali, where oxygen supplies are scarce.

“I want to thank all Indonesians for their understanding and support for the 23-day restrictions,” the president known as Jokowi said on Sunday, adding that COVID infection and hospital bed occupancy rates have declined, but did not specify how many have been passed .

Jokowi said that the government will gradually adjust some restrictions on “certain activities”, while allowing traditional markets and restaurants with outdoor areas to open, but there are some restrictions.

Some businesses, from salons and laundries to auto repair shops, are now allowed to open.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with more than three million According to official data, coronavirus infection and 83,000 deaths. The spread, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, shows no signs of slowing down.

According to the research organization Our Data World, the country’s death rate is three times the global average.

Since July 16, the daily death toll in Indonesia has been above 1,000. Experts say this number may be even higher due to the low rate of coronavirus testing. On Friday, it reported a record daily number of 1,566 COVID-19 deaths.

Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who oversees the COVID response in Java and Bali, said on Saturday, “Due to a variety of factors, the number of deaths has risen: the overcrowding of hospitals will add to the area with the most reported deaths.

Asian countries are experiencing the worst epidemic so far. With Vietnam and Thailand facing new anti-virus rules, Indonesia has become a new global hot spot.

Representatives of two of the world’s leading coronavirus research teams in the United States expressed concern that the situation in Indonesia is ripe for new and worrying variants of COVID-19.

“The more infections in the community, the greater the chance of a new variant,” Say Ali Mokdad, Professor of Health Metrics Science, Seattle Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation.

He also expressed concern about Eid al-Adha and its “peripheral activities” this week.

Indonesia’s COVID-19 working group issued a special directive for holiday weeks to ban public travel across the country.

After a similar order was issued in May on Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, thousands of security personnel were deployed across the country to enforce the travel ban, but it did little to prevent people from traveling.

Among the 270 million people in Indonesia, less than 7% of the population has been vaccinated. The largest country in Southeast Asia mainly relies on vaccines produced by China Kexing Biotech.