Southeast Asian Countries with the Highest Surge in Covid-19 Cases: Indonesia Tops the List!

COVID-19 cases are rising again in several Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia.

According to Worldometers, there were 33,395 new COVID-19 cases in Indonesia between November 2nd and 8th, 2022. This figure is a 53% increase compared to the previous week, where 22,114 new cases were reported between October 26th and November 1st, 2022.

This weekly increase is the highest in Southeast Asia, placing Indonesia at the top, as shown in the graph.

Malaysia follows with 27,876 new COVID-19 cases in the last week.

Singapore recorded 20,548 new cases, followed by the Philippines and Vietnam with 6,560 and 3,321 new cases respectively during the same period.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the new Omicron subvariant, XBB, has been dominant in Indonesia for the past few weeks. The XBB subvariant spreads faster, with the peak of cases expected to be similar to that of BA.4 and BA.5, which spread in July and August 2022.

"And it's very clear that the XBB subvariant's dominance has increased rapidly in the last three weeks," said Budi in a working meeting with Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) at the Nusantara I Building, DPR RI, on Tuesday (November 8th, 2022).

Therefore, the public is urged to continue implementing health protocols. Complete COVID-19 vaccination, including the third dose or booster, is also crucial to reduce the severity of COVID-19 infection.