Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The surge in coronavirus cases has reached a new level in Indonesia with daily rises averaging over 3,000 as the country is heading into what seems to be the toughest month so far in the outbreak.
It reported 3,269 new cases on Friday – the third day in a row that daily total has exceeded 3,000 – for a total of 187,537 cases.
While many Asian countries have been past their peak or in the second wave of new transmission, the curve in Indonesia has been experiencing an upward trend since first cases were detected in early March and it remains in the dark about reaching the peak seven months into the outbreak.
The virus is still raging on in densely populated provinces on Java Island, while Bali, North Sumatra, East Kalimantan and Riau are emerging as new hotspots, further suggesting a bleak outlook of how much longer the country can contain the outbreak.
Jakarta led the national tally with a total of 44,280 cases, 880 more from yesterday. New cases in the capital have been dramatically spiking since late last month when it began to report a four-digit daily rise.
But the fatality rate in proportion to total cases is relatively low in Jakarta. It has accumulated 1,252 Covid-19 deaths, accounting for just 2.8 percent of its total cases.
Coronavirus cases in East Java topped 35,000 on Friday after it reported 350 more cases. East Java is where the virus has killed more people than in any other Indonesian provinces.
It saw the highest daily death toll with 29 on Friday, bringing the total number of Covid-19 deaths to 2,488. The total number of coronavirus fatalities in East Java represents 31.8 percent of the national death toll, which totaled 7,832 on Friday.
Central Java is at a distance third, adding 190 new cases for a total of 14,860, including 1,066 deaths.
In West Java, the transmission rate of the virus has added the pace since last month. It recorded 385 new cases on Friday to take its total to 12,104.
It can overtake South Sulawesi (12,321) in the fourth place as soon as tomorrow. The growth of new cases in West Java also has outpaced that of Central Java since August.
Bali and East Kalimantan
Of the top six provinces with the most cases, only South Sulawesi and South Kalimantan have managed to contain the seven-day average within two digits.
However, more provinces have been emerging as new hotspots since last month. The novel coronavirus is spreading faster particularly in Bali and East Kalimantan, both reported a new high on Friday.
Bali reported 196 new cases to take its total to 5,906 while East Kalimantan added 281 cases for a total of 4,815.
Daily cases in North Sumatra have been in three-digit figure since the beginning of the month and it now has a total of 7,390 cases.
Riau, where the total number of coronavirus cases was still below 2,300, also experiences an alarming level of daily rises, which has been in three-digit number in the last three days.
Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-adds-3200-coronavirus-cases-surge-continues-in-bali