Yustinus Paat, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia reported 415 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours on Tuesday, the highest single-day rise since the first cases in the country were announced in early March.

Southeast Asia's largest country now has 9,511 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 773 deaths and 1,254 patients who have recovered.

National Covid-19 Task Force spokesman Acmad Yurianto said 103 more patients have recovered since Monday, while eight patients have died.

"Thankfully more and more patients are recovering," Achmad said. "We now have 48 labs hosted at universities, Health Ministry facilities and hospitals. So far we've conducted specimen tests on 62,544 people," he said.

President Joko Widodo has ordered the Health Ministry and the task force to carry out at least 10,000 tests per day, but the current figure remains nowhere near the halfway mark due to a lack of equipment.

More than 20,400 patients suspected of having the virus are still waiting for their swab tests for confirmation.

Achmad said the pandemic has now affected 297 districts and municipalities, nine more from yesterday.

Jakarta, the epicenter of the outbreak in Indonesia, has 4,002 confirmed cases, but the number of daily new cases has been declining and staying within two digits over the past five days.

According to the city's data, just more than 2,000 patients remain hospitalized and around 1,200 outpatients are self-isolating at home.

The city's Health Department said rapid testing for Covid-19 continues across the capital and has now reached 75,000 residents.

Battle continues

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the city's large-scale social restriction (PSBB) has been increasingly honored by residents during the past week.

"We see an 88 percent drop in public transportation use, while only 46 percent of private vehicles are still on the road [compared to normal days]. The PSBB is working," Anies said after hosting a meeting with Siloam International Hospitals representatives at City Hall, during which the city government received a donation of testing kits.

But he stopped short of directly attributing the declining daily new cases to the restrictions. "We shouldn't think we've eliminated the threat from Covid-19. The battle continues," Anies said.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-experiences-highest-daily-spike-in-coronavirus-cases