Indonesia on Monday, September 20, reported 1,932 new daily coronavirus infections, the lowest since August 2020, data from country’s COVID-19 task force showed, and the government further eased restrictions in Java and on its resort island Bali.

Indonesia, once Asia’s coronavirus epicenter, has reported nearly 4.2 million infections overall and over 140,000 deaths, but new cases have dropped 98% from their peak in July, senior cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan said.

Its average positivity rate – the percentage of tests that are positive – was just below 4% this month, under the World Health Organization’s 5% threshold for determining whether an outbreak is under control.

Luhut warned, however, that were still risks of new infection waves and said quarantine protocols would be strengthened at entry points.

“One of the risks is from abroad since the number of cases COVID-19 cases in our neighboring countries are still high,” Luhut told a virtual media briefing.

“We don’t want to lower our guards against the new variants.”

Measures that were relaxed on Monday include allowing cinemas to reopen at 50% capacity and children under 12 to visit malls in Java’s major cities.

Luhut said last week the government may allow foreign tourists to visit Bali from October as number of cases dropped.

– Rappler.com