Indonesian parents grieve for children killed by Covid-19

JAKARTA • Ms Tirsa Manitik gave birth to her first girl in June and buried her a month later - another casualty of virus-battered Indonesia's soaring child death toll.

The South-east Asian nation has been hit by its worst Covid-19 surge yet as the ultra-infectious Delta variant sent deaths skyrocketing and left a trail of devastated parents in its wake.

"My heart is broken. It really hurts," Ms Tirsa, 32, said at a Jakarta cemetery as she and her husband sprinkled flower petals over their daughter's grave. "I miss her every day."

Indonesia has one of the world's highest Covid-19 mortality rates for children, according to its paediatric association and non-governmental organisation Save the Children. Officially, about 400,000 Indonesians under 17 have been infected, although under-reporting and patchy testing make comparative figures difficult to come by.

The virus has killed more than 1,200 children - nearly half under one year old - with the majority dying in June and last month as cases surged, according to Health Ministry data and experts.

Poor nutrition, inadequate healthcare and low vaccination rates are among the factors driving the frightening trend. Parents unwittingly exposing children to infected family and friends is another likely culprit, experts said.

Ms Tirsa and her husband, who also have an 11-year-old boy, saw a string of relatives arrive at their home to welcome baby Beverly. Joy quickly turned to worry as the family all started getting sick.

As cases soared in Indonesia's sprawling capital, Ms Tirsa raced from one bursting hospital to another in a desperate bid to get treatment. "I was devastated when we were turned away (from hospitals), Ms Tirsa said. "I also had the virus then, but I had to fight for my baby."

Finally, a friend helped find a hospital that would treat Beverly as the disease attacked her little lungs. But the baby died in intensive care about a week later - just days after the virus also killed her paternal grandfather.

"She was very strong. Doctors said she could survive for only three days, but she didn't give up easily," Ms Tirsa said. "Beverly was 29 days old."

Now, Ms Tirsa lives with the grief of losing her child, and the couple's fateful decision to meet family members. "We were all so happy about the baby that we hung out at our house," she said. "I don't want to blame my relatives because we still don't know where the virus came from."

Indonesia, where less than 10 per cent of its 270 million people are fully inoculated with two jabs, last month began vaccinating those aged 12 to 17, as well as pregnant women.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE