Indonesia Coronavirus Cases Break Three Records in One Week

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia Coronavirus cases reached record-breaking levels this week amid the government’s aggressive testing and contact tracing efforts.

Having previously achieved 10,000 tests per day, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has stepped up measures to increase the daily testing rate to 20,000 tests.

National Covid-19 Task Force Spokesperson Achmad Yurianto confirmed that the increase in daily infections is the result of the government’s actions to ramp up testing.

Also Read: 1.241 Kasus Baru, Ini 10 Provinsi dengan Kenaikan Kasus Covid-19 Tertinggi

There are two methods to Covid-19 testing in Indonesia, real-time polymerase chain reaction or rapid molecular diagnostic test.

On 10 June, Indonesia coronavirus cases increased by 1,241 new infections, an all-time daily record since the novel virus was first reported in the country in March.

Indonesia coronavirus cases also peaked during the same week on 9 June with 1,043 new cases and 993 cases on 6 June.

Today, the government announced 979 new infections totaling the number of Indonesia coronavirus cases to 35,295 thus indicating a continued uptick in nationwide infection rates.

Jokowi made clear that stricter measures or repeating lockdown are likely should Indonesia coronavirus cases rise sharply.

The provinces of Jakarta and East Java have the highest number of Coronavirus patients in the country with a respective 8,650 and 7,103 confirmed cases.

Baca juga: Highest Daily Number of Covid-19 Cases Recorded in Jakarta on Tuesday

Jakarta Coronavirus cases managed to also reach an all-time high this week when the provincial government announced an additional 239 new infections on 9 June.

This record is a result of aggressive testing and contact tracing by the Jakarta Provincial government though the increase coincides with the city’s recent entry into the new normal.

30,000 Tests is Ideal

According to Achmad Yurianto, aggressive testing and contact tracing bring a positive impact on the Indonesian coronavirus fight as it mitigates the fast-spreading virus.

“This is proof that aggressive tracing can identify many Coronavirus positive cases and of course we would prefer that those affected will self-isolate to prevent being a source of infection to others,” he stated.

Under Jokowi, Indonesia is gradually ramping up measures to 20,000 tests daily, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy believes that the ideal daily testing number is 30,000 specimens.

He added that testing for Indonesian coronavirus testing is gradually being met as evident in the increased daily testing rate.

“We don’t want there to be a chain that we haven’t identified. Thus, we need to involve volunteers and as Pak Doni (Monardo) mentioned, fresh graduates or final-year university students as volunteers. They can be from a midwifery major, nursing major, and public health undergraduates which I think can help back up our effort since it requires a large amount of manpower,” said Muhadjir. (Writer: Dani Prabowo | Editor: Dani Prabowo)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/11/14482641/tiga-rekor-dalam-sepekan-di-tengah-tracing-agresif-covid-19