Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian capital reported the highest one-day rise of coronavirus cases on Sunday with 1,380 new cases to take its total to 54,220, as the city is embracing new restriction policy that will oblige all infected persons to quarantine at government-appointed facilities.
The previous record was 1,359 cases occurring ten days ago. Jakarta has added more than 14,000 cases since the beginning of the month and become the first and only province to report a four-digit daily total of coronavirus cases.
It has the second-highest death toll after East Java, totaling 1,391 as of Sunday.
Governor Anies Baswedan said earlier in the day the new social restriction policy effective from Monday will require all infected persons to isolate themselves at the city's facilities.
The transmission rate among family members couldn't be stopped because "not every one of us has the experience and knowledge in stopping the disease from spreading further", Anies said at a news conference in Jakarta.
If any infected person fails to follow the instruction, he or she will be forcedly taken to the isolation facilities, he added.
Nationwide, Indonesia added 3,636 new cases to take the country's total to 218,382. It reported the lowest death toll since August 21, with 73 Covid-19 deaths for a total of 8,723. The fatality rate in proportion to the total cases is 4 percent.
East Java, the second worst-affected province, reported the lowest daily count in more than a month, with 249 more cases for a total of 38,088. It again reported the highest number of Covid-19 deaths, with 17 more on Sunday to bring its total death toll to 2,763.
Central Java recorded 282 new cases to outpace East Java for the third day in row and now has accumulated 17,742 cases, including 1,145 deaths.
West Java is ranked fourth with a total of 14,388 cases, 157 more from the previous day.
Hotspots in Sumatra
Four provinces in Sumatra reported three-digit figures, with Aceh and Riau each adding 212 cases to their tally.
North Sumatra remains the worst-hit province on the island, with a total of 8,465 cases or 103 more from yesterday. It's ranked seventh among provinces with the most cases countrywide.
But it's Riau that has been experiencing the biggest surge since late last month. It has added more than 2,200 cases since August 29, taking its total to 3,781 today.
Aceh, where total cases are still below 3,000, has seen three-digit rises in the last two days.
West Sumatra also began to report three-digit daily total early this month as testing capacity is improving. It has accumulated 3,387 cases since the outbreak.
Of the ten worst-affected provinces, only South Sulawesi (5th) and South Kalimantan (6th) have seen a slowing rate in new infections. North Sumatra is on course for overtaking South Kalimantan this month with the current pace.
Bali has the biggest growth in new cases outside Java Island by adding more than 2,000 cases since the beginning of the month. The famous resort island has a total of 7,226 cases to rank eighth.
The virus is also raging on in East Kalimantan, which has risen through the ranks with 5,926 cases. It had a mere 525 cases in total on July 1.
Indonesia has a total of 54,649 active cases of the virus, or 25 percent of total cases.