Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Indonesia passed the 20,000 mark on Monday while the average of daily new cases set a new record for the fifth day in a row.

The sad milestone was reached amid a dramatic rise in daily death toll, which topped 200 in the last two days.

A further 205 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours to take the total death toll to 20,085. It's the second-highest daily death toll after a record 221 only a day earlier.

Daily death toll has been within three-digit territory in the last 30 days, the deadliest period since the first Covid death was confirmed on March 11.

The virus has killed 3,140 people in the country since the beginning of the month, second only to the monthly record of 3,323 deaths in September.

By average, 150 people have died from coronavirus everyday in the last 21 days, far above the September average of 111.

Central Java sets a provincial record for the highest number of Covid deaths in a single day, with 84 for a total of 2,927 deaths.

East Java remains the deadliest place of the Indonesian outbreak with a total of 5,254 deaths, 44 more from the previous day.

Jakarta is ranked second with 3,087 deaths after recording another 15 casualties. West Java is the last province to report a four-digit death toll, totaling 1,099.

Health experts have suggested that the actual number of Covid deaths could be much higher than what indicated by the government figures, which don't include deaths from probable cases.

Surging cases

The country has recorded a further 6,848 coronavirus cases in the 24-hour period, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 671,778.

The seven-day average stands at 6,924, breaking a new record for the fifth day in a row, according to the Jakarta Globe data.

Indonesia has added 132,895 cases in the last 21 days, already beating the record for the highest monthly total, which is 128,795 cases reported last month.

There are currently around 105,000 active cases of the virus across all 34 provinces, mainly in the most-crowded island of Java.

A dramatic surge in newly cases is occurring in key hotspots like East Java, West Java and South Sulawesi, while Jakarta has seen resurgence since mid-November.

Jakarta led the national tally in the day with a further 1,466 cases to take its total to 164,577, more than any other province.

The city's Health Department reported earlier that 85 percent of 6,663 hospital beds designated for Covid patients were occupied on Sunday, while 80 percent of ICU beds were also taken.

With an average of over 1,500 cases, the capital city is at a different level when compared to caseloads in other provinces.

East Java is at a distant second with a total of 76,111 cases, an increase of 837 on its total a day earlier. The province has set a new record in seven-day average in all but two days throughout this month.

West Java is catching up quickly by averaging 1,055 cases since Dec. 1 to take its total to 74,664. The country's most populous province has added more than 22,000 cases month to date.

The surge is slowing a bit in Central Java, whose daily number has never passed 1,000 so far this month. It has a total of 72,528 cases, 997 more from the previous day.

Other hotspots

South Sulawesi has the biggest number of cases outside Java, standing at 26,322. Daily numbers are rising dramatically in the province, including a new record of 559 on Monday.

Its seven day average tops 400 for the first time since the outbreak started to extend the record-breaking run to six days.

East Kalimantan comes next with a total of 24,292 cases, also on a new high of the seven-day average.

Two Sumatra neighbors Riau and West Sumatra are ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, among worst-affected provinces.

The growth rate of newly cases in Riau hasn't changed much when compared to last month, while West Sumatra sees a downward trend despite still averaging 121 cases this month.

However, Banten is emerging fast as new hotspot and joins the top ten by overtaking Bali. A neighbor to Jakarta, Banten has been averaging 157 cases since the beginning of the month to take its total to 16,353, or 42 more than Bali's total.

With a much bigger pace in new infections, Banten is also on course for surpassing North Sumatra (17,353) in the ninth place.

In addition, Yogyakarta and Central Kalimantan have been consistently recording three-digit numbers in daily cases for the last few weeks.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-passes-20000-covid-death