Indonesia's daily coronavirus positivity rate has dropped below the World Health Organisation's benchmark standard of five per cent this week for the first time, an indicator that the country's devastating second wave could be easing, Reuters reports.

The positivity rate, or the proportion of people tested who are positive, peaked at 33.4pc in July when Indonesia became Asia's coronavirus epicentre, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.

That rate has now fallen to 4.57pc, the lowest since March 2020, when Indonesia's first cases were reported, according to an independent data initiative, Kawal Covid-19.

Students wearing protective masks stand in line to receive a vaccine dose against the coronavirus during a mass vaccination programme for students at the Tangerang City Government Centre on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia on September 2. — Reuters
Students wearing protective masks stand in line to receive a vaccine dose against the coronavirus during a mass vaccination programme for students at the Tangerang City Government Centre on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia on September 2. — Reuters

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