Indonesia reports 1,673 new COVID-19 infections, 70 deaths
Firefighters wearing protective suits spray disinfectant in the Indonesian Parliament amid the COVID-19 outbreak on Aug 9, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
JAKARTA: Indonesia reported 1,673 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday (Aug 18), bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian nation to 143,043, data from the country's health ministry showed.
The data recorded an additional 70 deaths, taking the total to 6,277.
READ: Indonesia to gain priority access to Chinese firm's COVID-19 vaccine formula for taking part in human trial
Indonesia on Tuesday also recorded a trade surplus of US$3.26 billion for July, as exports improved to US$13.73 billion and imports slowed to US$10.47 billion, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
President Joko Widodo on Friday proposed a 2,747.5 trillion rupiah (US$185 billion) budget for 2021, with measures designed to focus on accelerating economic recovery amid the pandemic.
The Jakarta city government decided last week to again extend a partial lockdown to control the spread of the virus. The lockdown will now be in place until Aug 27.
READ: Indonesian teachers warn of new coronavirus clusters as schools reopen
Indonesia has also been given priority access to the technical know-how on producing the Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine once the candidate obtains regulatory approval, according to an official.
This is among the benefits of Indonesia participating in the late-stage human trial of the vaccine candidate produced by Sinovac Biotech, which is one of the few in the world to enter phase 3 clinical trials.
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