Indonesia extends Covid curbs as cases stay high

Indonesia has extended its Covid-19 restrictions for at least another five days as infections remain high.

The partial lockdown was initially due to be in place from 3-20 July but has now been extended until 25 July, president Joko Widodo said.

The restrictions, which impose limits on schools, shops, restaurants and other activities, cover up to 200mn people on Indonesia's main island of Java, as well as Bali and 43 other areas.

New Covid-19 cases have surged despite the curbs, hitting a high of almost 57,000 on 15 July but declining in recent days.

Indonesia's gasoline imports fell by 15pc in the first half of July from a month earlier to around 190,000 b/d as the restrictions cut driving activity, according to estimates from analytics firm Vortexa. Indonesia, the largest gasoline buyer in Asia-Pacific, imported around 373,000 b/d of the fuel in May, according to the most recent customs data.

Jet fuel demand has also been hit by the suspension of some domestic flights to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Coronavirus cases have surged in southeast Asia in recent weeks, leading to restrictions being imposed or extended in countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma) and Singapore.

The worsening Covid-19 outbreak in the region has prompted the Asian Development Bank to trim its forecast for economic growth in developing Asian countries to 7.2pc this year, down from its previous forecast of 7.3pc made in April. Southeast Asian GDP growth is seen slowing to 4pc from 4.4pc because of pandemic restrictions.

By Kevin Foster