Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The daily death toll in the Indonesian Covid-19 outbreak has exceeded 100 for seven consecutive days, the longest streak of three-digit deaths as newly cases are surging at an unprecedented rate.
Indonesia has recorded a total of 9,553 Covid-19 deaths since the outbreak in early March, but deaths from probable cases aren't included in the official tally, although thousands more deceased patients have been buried under the Covid-19 protocol across the archipelago.
It has reported 830 deaths in the past week alone, or 9 percent of the total death toll. The highest daily death toll is 139 on July 22.
However, a surge in new cases drove down the fatality rate to 3.9 percent from just above 4 percent last week.
New cases have been growing at the fastest speed since the beginning of the month. Indonesia has recorded more confirmed cases of coronavirus for 20 days in September than the total number accumulated throughout the last month.
It has beaten its own daily high four times and recorded 69,880 cases since Sept. 1, in comparison to a total of 66,420 cases in August.
The daily total passed 4,000 for the first time on Saturday while it remains unclear when the country is reaching its peak. Southeast Asia's biggest country now has a total of 244,676 cases.
Jakarta home to 25 pct cases
Jakarta is bearing the brunt of the dramatic surge in new cases this month, during which it has recorded more than three times the number of new cases in second worst-hit East Java.
The capital has reported 21,880 new cases in the last 20 days, in comparison to 7,165 cases in East Java in the same period.
With 61,966 cases in total – including 1,541 deaths – Jakarta is home to 25 percent of the country's Covid-19 confirmed cases.
East Java comes next with a total of 40,708 cases, but it has the highest death toll with 2,965 Covid-19 deaths.
Central Java is at a distant third with fewer than half of the total cases in East Java. However, it has been experiencing a surge since the start of the month with an average of 278 cases, nearly double its daily average in August. The province now has 19,516 cases, including 1,252 deaths.
The daily rise in West Java is alarming as it began to outpace that of Central Java, with an average of 288 cases this month, taking its total to 16,822 cases.
Most dramatic surge
The province of Riau in the central part of Sumatra has reported the most dramatic surge in newly coronavirus cases.
It only had around 200 cases when August came, but on Sunday the province became the 12th province to record more than 5,000 cases since the outbreak.
The province of 7 million people has been averaging 172 cases since September, fewer only to the average in the four most populous provinces – West Java, East Java, Central Java and Jakarta. It has beaten its own daily record five times this month.
Three other hotspots – North Sumatra, Bali and East Kalimantan – are averaging 127 cases in September.
South Sulawesi, which has the fifth-highest number of coronavirus cases, has seen a resurgence in cases this month, averaging 119 cases in comparison to 82 in August. The province has recorded a total of 14,367 cases as of Sunday.
Overall, Indonesia has 57,796 active cases or coronavirus and 177,327 recovered patients.
Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-reports-longest-run-of-threedigit-daily-covid-deaths