Indonesia has been bracing for an expected surge in COVID-19 cases following the Eid holiday in mid-May, and anyone hoping for some positivity might be glad to learn that, according to officials, this year is not as bad as last year. At least on the national level.

According to the COVID-19 Task Force, in the three weeks after the Eid holiday in 2020, Indonesia recorded an 80.5 percent spike in cases. In 2021, over the same period of time, Indonesia recorded a 53.4 percent spike.

That's not to say Indonesia is out of the woods yet, with the Task Force predicting that a further spike caused by increased mobility during the Eid holiday may well continue throughout the early days of June.

Furthermore, several regions, like Central Java's Kudus regency, have seen alarming rise in cases lately. The number of regions categorized as "red zones," meaning those that pose a high risk for COVID-19 transmission, have also increased in recent weeks.

"Don't let things get critical and out of control. We plead that all regents and mayors improve COVID-19 handling in their respective regions," COVID-19 Task Force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito stated in a press release today.

As of June 9, Indonesia has recorded 1,877,050 cases, including 1,723,253 recoveries and 52,162 deaths. The country recorded 7,725 new cases yesterday – the highest daily count since late February – bringing the number of active cases up by 1,672 to 101,635.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/2021-post-eid-spike-lower-than-2020-covid-19-task-force