Indonesia becomes Asia's pandemic epicenter, Covid-19 deaths in Cambodia hit record high

According to Worldometer statistics, on July 15, Indonesia had 56,757 new infections and 982 more deaths due toCovid-19This is a record number of infections in a single day and a serious warning sign for the world's fourth most populous country.

CNN news agency quoted experts as saying that if the spread is not slowed, it could push Indonesia's health system to the brink of disaster.

Some fear the real situation is worse than the numbers suggest, as Indonesia does not have enough people to test. According to a survey released late last week, nearly half of Jakarta’s 10.6 million residents may have been infected with Covid-19.

Experts say Indonesia is paying the price for failing to enforce a strict lockdown and investing in an effective contact tracing system. Health Minister Sadikin said earlier that officials initially did not realize how quickly the virus was spreading in the latest wave.

Record high Covid-19 infections in Malaysia

Malaysia's new infections hit a record high for the third consecutive day even as the country's vaccination campaign ramps up to control the Covid-19 outbreak.

Malaysia recorded 13,215 new Covid-19 cases on July 15, with Selangor state having the highest concentration of infections. The country's health ministry said the government's decision to speed up vaccination has helped the government vaccinate 12.3% of the population against Covid-19.

Africa's death toll rises 43% in a week

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that Covid-19-related deaths in Africa increased by 43% in a week due to a lack of oxygen and intensive care beds. Accordingly, the number of people who died from Covid-19 in Africa in the week from July 5 to 11 rose to 6,273, while the number was 4,384 a week ago.

The surge is the clearest sign yet that hospitals in the countries worst hit by the Covid-19 outbreak are reaching their limits, WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti told a virtual briefing.

Long-Term Covid-19 Has More Than 200 Symptoms

The largest-ever international study in the UK of people with long-haul Covid-19 has identified more than 200 symptoms, prompting researchers to call for a national screening programme.

The Guardian reports that the study found that a myriad of long-term Covid-19 symptoms, from brain fog to hallucinations, tremors, and tinnitus, appeared in 10 of the body’s organs. About a third of the symptoms continued to affect victims for at least six months.

A national screening programme would help better understand how many people are affected and what kind of support they need, British scientists say.

Thai private hospital imports Pfizer vaccine

One of Thailand’s largest private hospitals, Thonburi Healthcare Group Pcl, is in talks with BioNTech SE to import 20 million doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, to speed up the country’s vaccination drive amid the Delta variant’s surge in Asia.

Thonburi is expected to sign the contract in two to three days and the first shipment of 5 million doses will be delivered later this month, Thonburi's chairman said, according to Bloomberg.

Cambodia's Covid-19 Deaths Hit Record High

According to Khmer Times, on July 15, Cambodia recorded a record number of Covid-19 deaths. With 39 new deaths, the total number of people who died from Covid-19 in Cambodia is 1,025. The number of new infections yesterday was 996, bringing the total number of infections here to 64,000.