Virus variants a concern in Indonesia as regional clusters grow

A jump in Covid-19 cases on Indonesia's two most populous islands has health experts worried that the worst could be yet to come, with few curbs on movement at a time when dangerous variants drive record fatalities elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Case numbers have risen sharply in Java and Sumatra three weeks after holidays that followed the Islamic fasting month, when millions ventured across the archipelago, ignoring a temporary travel ban.

In Kudus, central Java, where healthcare reinforcements have been brought in, cases skyrocketed 7,594 percent according to Wiku Adisasmito...