A senior paediatrician has said the number of Indonesian children contracting the coronavirus has almost tripled since May, with infant deaths from Covid-19 rising sharply as the country suffers its most severe wave of infections so far, Reuters reports.

Dr Aman Pulungan, head of Indonesia's paediatric society, said weekly child deaths from Covid-19 rose to 24 last week from 13 in the previous week, many under five years old.

Aman said infections among minors were rising fast.

"It is increasing now. In mid-May there were about 2,000-2,500 cases per week," said Aman. "Last week there were more than 6,000 cases."

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