The Red Cross is warning Indonesia is “on the edge of catastrophe” as health systems struggle to keep up with the influx of patients

Jakarta, June 30 (RHC)-- As the Delta variant threatens to hamper COVID-19 recovery efforts around the world, the Red Cross is warning Indonesia is “on the edge of catastrophe” as health systems struggle to keep up with the influx of patients. 

One nurse in Jakarta, Nurlaela, told reporters: “A lot of cases were dead on arrival because of a lack of beds.  Patients had to wait until there are beds before they can be hospitalized.”

In related news, in Brazil, COVID-19 -- which has killed at least 516,000 people -- caused life expectancy to decline an estimated 1.3 years in 2020, a stark finding in the country with the second worst death toll after the U.S.