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JAKARTA (Reuters) – Weeks after the Delta variant of the coronavirus ravaged Jakarta, the Indonesian capital achieved “herd immunity,” the city’s vice-governor said, ahead of an expected ruling from the president on Monday on whether to prolong COVID-19 borders.
For much of the past month, Jakarta has been devastated by the epidemic with hospitals flooded, oxygen shortages and COVID-19 patients dying at home, but in recent weeks the number of cases has dropped sharply, while that vaccination rates have increased.
As of July 12, Jakarta recorded more than 14,600 infections, but by Sunday the figure had fallen to 700.
“Jakarta has entered the green zone and achieved collective immunity,” Deputy Governor of Jakarta Ahmad Rizia Patria told reporters on Sunday.
The vice governor was referring to the high vaccination rates in the capital, where more than 54% of residents are fully vaccinated and most have only received a single injection.
Nationally, just over 11% of the population has been fully immunized since the Southeast Asian nation began its immunization program in January.
Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, said the vice governor misunderstood the concept of herd immunity.
“Even if we reach 100% vaccine coverage, the level of immunity is still below 80%,” he said, adding that the vaccine’s effectiveness levels were only around 55%.
Home to more than 10 million people, Jakarta has mainly administered the Chinese Sinovac vaccine, while some residents have received injections from Astra Zeneca and Sinopharm.
President Joko Widodo is expected to announce on Monday whether the current social restrictions in place since July in Java and Bali will be relaxed or extended.
The government has maintained social restrictions in recent weeks but allowed limited capacity in malls and restaurants.
Despite an overall decline in cases nationwide, Indonesia still recorded more than 12,000 cases on Sunday, as it continues to fight one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.
Since mid-July, the country has also recorded more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 every day, one of the highest rates in the world.
While cases have declined in Jakarta and parts of Java, the highly contagious Delta continues to increase in other islands, including parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and remote Papua.
(Reporting by Kate Lamb in Sydney and Agustinus Beo Da Costa in Jakarta; editing by Ed Davies)
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