Heru Andriyanto, Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – National Covid-19 Task Force Head Doni Monardo admitted on Monday he had no idea when the number of coronavirus cases will arrive at its peak in the country, where cases already hit the 100,000 mark.

Indonesia reported 1,525 new cases of the virus on Monday, taking its total to 100,303 and becoming the 24th country in the world to have reached the grim milestone.

"We don't know yet when we will be past the peak due to the highly fluctuating daily number," Doni said in Jakarta.

Doni said the growing number of people ignoring the health protocols has fueled a recent surge in cases.

"The government keeps encouraging all elements of the society to remind others about honoring the health protocols – one person reminds at least two others. Physical distancing is the most difficult thing to do but it's also the most important measure to stop the spread of the disease," Doni said.

The country has added nearly 44,000 cases throughout the month, during which several provinces have emerged as new hotspots such as Central Java and North Sumatra.

The death toll in the outbreak totaled 4,838, an increase by 57 from the previous day. The number of recovered Covid-19 patients increased by 1,518 for a total of 58,173, or 58 percent of the total cases.

Jakarta reported 467 new cases, the city's second highest daily rise, to bring its total cases to 19,592, including 769 deaths.

The capital city has added more than 8,100 cases since the start of the month and outpaced the growth of cases in worst-hit East Java during the past two weeks.

East Java recorded 273 cases for a total of 20,812 cases and registered the highest death toll of the day with 19 fatalities, taking its total Covid-19 deaths to 1,608. No other provinces have registered more than 1,000 deaths so far.

Cases in Central Java rose by 210 for a total of 8,622, taking it closer to South Sulawesi that has accumulated 8,991 cases. But Central Java has a lot more Covid-19 deaths, 574 against 307.

Ten provinces reported no new cases in the day, while in 13 others the number of recovered patients was higher than the new cases.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-in-dark-about-peak-as-coronavirus-cases-top-10000