July 2
Authorities have confirmed that the first case of the Coronavirus Delta strain has now been detected in Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) in the Sumbawan capital, Bima.
Nusa Tenggara Barat is an administrative region made up by the islands of Lombok, Suma and Sumbawa.
Earlier this week, two passengers arriving at Lombok’s International Airport from Jakarta were detained after random testing showed they were carrying the highly infectious strain.
For now though, it remains unclear whether others have already carried the variant strain to Lombok.
All people travelling between islands in Indonesia must be tested within three days of travelling and must record a negative test result.
The Delta strain is now the dominant coronavirus strain in Jakarta and throughout Java, placing enormous pressure on medical resources and health care workers there.
The Delta strain is now also prevalant on the island of Bali, which recently reported having vaccinated 70% of its population.
The island was preparing to reopen to International tourists this month but those plans are now on hold pending authorities abilility on both islands to contain the outbreak and to rein in spiralling case numbers.
Authorities are now also trying to determine the source of the Sumbawa transmission.