Indonesia lifts all COVID curbs, shifts to endemic approach

By NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Almost three years after officials announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Indonesia, the country’s leader says they are lifting all coronavirus-related restrictions nationwide. Large-scale social restrictions had been imposed in the world’s fourth-most populous nation in April 2020. President Joko Widodo said Friday that Indonesia’s COVID-19 situation is under control after observing improvements over the past 10 months. Almost all Indonesians have developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In July, researchers examined blood samples from over 20,000 people in 100 cities across the archipelago and found that 98.5% of the respondents had antibodies against the virus, either from vaccination or past infection.