Indonesia on Wednesday broke the record of 14,518 cases reported on Jan.30, 2021, but the difference with the new one (15,308 cases) was only 790.

On Thursday, the difference was overwhelming (5,266), as the number of cases increased by 20,574, so the total number of cases rose to 2,053,995, a figure only surpassed by India in Asia.

Once again, health authorities warned that if the epidemiological situation worsens, the hospital system could be overwhelmed because the number of active cases has risen to 171,542.

On top of that, the death toll on Thursday amounted to 355, not two far from the record of 387 deaths reported on Jan. 27. Now the death toll from this disease in the country totals 55,949, the second highest number in the region.

Indonesia has been under a strict curfew since Tuesday and for at least two weeks in a new attempt to curb the pandemic.

On the other hand, the vaccination campaign is lagging behind: in a population of more than 270 million inhabitants, only 35 million people have received one or two shots of the several vaccines purchased by the country.

pgh/aph/mgt/asg