Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Indonesia hit the sad milestone of 50,000 on Thursday as major hotspots East Java and South Sulawesi failed to put a brake on the spread of the disease, while daily cases in Jakarta also returned to three-digit figures during most days in the past three weeks.

Southeast Asia's biggest country reported 1,178 new cases in the day, bringing its total number of confirmed cases to 50,187. It also saw 47 more deaths from the disease, taking the total death toll to 2,620.

If there was something to cheer about, it was the number of daily recoveries that set a new record of 791 on Thursday. A total of 20,449 Covid-19 patients have now been cured or discharged from hospitals across the country.

The latest numbers show the transmission rate in Indonesia is only gaining pace, making it more difficult for experts to predict the peak of the pandemic curve.

The time it takes for cases to increase by 10,000 or more in Indonesia is getting shorter.

It took 60 days before the country had more than 10,000 cases, but the same increment was reached in only 21, 16, 10 and then nine days until the total number of cases crossed 50,000.

East Java again recorded more new cases than other provinces today with 247 new patients to take its total number of cases to 10,545. The province is now just 55 cases behind Jakarta, which registered 196 new cases in the day.

The two are the only provinces to have registered over 10,000 cases since the outbreak began in early March. South Sulawesi registered 103 new cases and is now the third most-affected province with 4,297 cases.

Earlier on Wednesday, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said she anticipated the number of coronavirus cases in her province would surpass those in Jakarta anytime soon, pointing to a higher positivity rate as an indicator.

"The chance for probable cases to become positive in East Java is above 40 percent. If this continues, the number of confirmed cases in East Java will soon surpass Jakarta," Khofifah said.

Out of 38 districts and cities in the province, only Madiun has been declared a "green zone" for managing to put the outbreak under control and flattening its curve, she said.

She added the provincial government had spent over Rp 2 trillion ($142 million) on Covid-19 mitigation measures.

The National Covid-19 Task Force has suggested that East Java set up makeshift Covid-19 hospitals and isolation facilities.

East Java has more than 6,500 active cases, the most among the country's 34 provinces. The number of ICU beds and isolation rooms at the province's hospitals is estimated to be less than half the number of the active cases.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesias-coronavirus-cases-surpass-5000