Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Once was the worst-affected province in the Indonesian coronavirus outbreak, East Java now sees a greatly reduced intensity of caseloads thanks to soaring number of recoveries and slower growth in newly cases.

Despite being ranked second in the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases nationally, East Java has the lowest percentage of active cases among 15 worst-hit provinces.

It has recorded 2,563 active cases as of Monday, or just 5.21 percent of a total of 49,174 confirmed cases it has accumulated since the outbreak. Among 15 provinces with the most confirmed cases of coronavirus, East Java is ranked eighth when it comes to the number of active cases.

The number of cured or discharged Covid patients in the province accounts for 88 percent of the overall cases, also among the best in the country.

Even Riau and West Sumatra – each has fewer than a quarter of the total number of cases in East Java – are dealing with a lot more active cases of the virus at this point of time.

West Sumatra's health system is being overloaded with 4,970 Covid-19 patients from a total of 11,205 confirmed cases while neighboring Riau has 4,116 active cases from a total of 11,839 overall cases.

East Java, with a population of 40 million people, has been averaging 288 cases since the beginning of the month, down from an average of 340 cases in September.

The downside of the outbreak in East Java is that it still has the biggest number of coronavirus-related deaths, totaling 3,562 on Monday.

Jakarta has just above 13,000 active cases from a total of 95,253 confirmed coronavirus cases. The city of 10 million averages 1,132 cases month to date and has the second-highest death toll of 2,046.

A dramatic surge in new infections means that West Java also sees an increasing number of active cases, totaling 9,590. It averages 451 new cases this month, second only to Jakarta.

Central Java is in fifth in terms of active cases after Jakarta, West Java, West Sumatra and Riau as transmissions of the virus are also in an upward trend. It has 4,084 active cases from a total of 29,395 confirmed cases.

While Papua is ranked 12th in the total number of confirmed cases, it comes sixth in terms of active cases, which stands at 3,684. It means 44.71 percent of all confirmed cases in the country's easternmost province remain a burden to its health system, the biggest percentage nationwide.

The provincial government on Monday ordered all civil servants to work remotely from home to contain the spread of the virus until January next year.

East Kalimantan is the last province to outnumber active cases in East Java, with 2,705 from a total of 11,970 active cases.

Overall, Indonesia has a total of 63,380 active cases of the virus from a total of 365,240 confirmed cases. It has recorded 3,373 new cases in the last 24 hours, the lowest daily number in a week.

The country also reported 3,919 more recovered patients, bringing the total number of recoveries to 289,243. The death toll increased by 106 for a total of 12,617.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/coronavirus-outbreak-eases-in-east-java