Maria Fatima Bona, Jakarta – The government claimed on Monday that at least five provinces including the national capital of Jakarta have seemingly passed the peak of their latest Covid-19 wave.

Indonesia has recorded 34,418 new cases in the past 24 hours, down by nearly 10,000 cases from the previous day, government figures show. The highest daily tally was 64,718 cases recorded on February 16 amid a sudden surge in new infections triggered by the Omicron variant.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the number of new cases have been declining in Jakarta, Bali, Banten, Maluku, and West Nusa Tenggara.

There are 13 provinces where their daily peak has surpassed the record high during the previous wave when the Delta variant was very dominant in mid-2021.

"They have outnumbered the record high of the Delta variant wave and five provinces have passed their current peak," Budi said in a virtual news conference.

But Budi said the daily Covid-19 death toll may continue to increase until the next two weeks. Indonesia has been averaging 175 coronavirus-related deaths over the past week, including 176 deaths on Monday.

"Despite a decline in new cases in several provinces like Jakarta and Bali, the peak in Covid deaths will arrive probably after two weeks," Budi said.

Chief Economic Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan told the news conference that of 2,484 Covid deaths recorded since the Omicron wave, 73 percent are patients who have not been fully vaccinated.

The elderly account for 53 percent of the death toll while patients with underlying conditions make up 46 percent, he added.

"Most of the complications leading to deaths involve diabetes," Luhut said without going into details.

The total number of active Covid-19 cases stands at 530,671, according to Health Ministry data. Indonesia has recorded 5.2 million Covid-19 cases and 146,541 deaths since the pandemic began.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/covid19-peak-has-passed-in-five-province