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JAKARTA (Reuters) – A more infectious mutation of the new coronavirus has been found in Indonesia, the Jakarta-based Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology said on Sunday, as the number of cases from the Southeast Asian country surges.
Indonesia reported 2,858 new infections on Sunday, data from the Health Ministry showed, down from the previous day’s record of 3,308 but above last month’s daily average. Its total number of cases was 172,053, with 7,343 deaths from COVID-19.
The virus’s “infectious but milder” D614G mutation has been found in genome sequencing data from samples collected by the institute, Deputy Director Herawati Sudoyo told Reuters, adding that more studies are needed to determine if that’s behind it. of the recent increase in cases.
The strain, which according to the World Health Organization was identified in February and has been circulating in Europe and America, has also been found in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.
Syahrizal Syarif, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, cautioned that Indonesians should remain vigilant, as his modeling suggests that the country may see its number of cases rise to 500,000 by the end of the year.
“The situation is dire … Local transmission is currently out of control,” Syarif said, adding that the number of infections found daily could have been much higher if laboratories could process more samples in one day.
The capital Jakarta on Sunday saw a record daily increase of more than 1,000 cases, which the city government linked to a higher rate of mobility during an independence celebration in mid-August.
“There needs to be a collective conscience and effort, be it from the government or the people, to address the growing number of cases,” said Dwi Oktavia, an official with the Jakarta health agency, in a statement, urging the people to stay home and wear a mask when they must go out.
(Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo and Stanley Widianto; Additional reporting by Nilufar Rizki; Editing by Sam Holmes and William Mallard)
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