Indonesian new virus cases set record as omicron spreads

By NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant. The country confirmed more than 57,000 new infections, more than the previous record set last July, when the delta variant overwhelmed hospitals on the main island of Java. The national COVID-19 task force also reported 134 deaths on Tuesday. More than 100 people have died each day since Friday, mostly in the capital, Jakarta. Indonesia had largely recovered from last year’s surge, which was among the worst in Southeast Asia, and new daily infections had fallen to about 200 by December. But cases are sharply rising again with omicron’s arrival.