Anticipating a Surge in Cases Outside Java and Bali

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Residents undergo antigen and PCR tests at Karet Kuningan, Setiabudi, South Jakarta, Tuesday (1/2/2022).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Java and Bali comprise most of the increase in Covid-19 cases that has occurred in Indonesia over the past two weeks. In areas such as Tangerang and Depok, the reported number of daily cases even surpassed the peak of transmission of the Delta variant. Looking at the Delta-fueled second wave last year, a surge in cases outside of Java and Bali is sure to follow.

According to data from the national Covid-19 handling task force, Indonesia recorded 36,057 new cases on Sunday (6/2/2022), the highest daily increase to date. Two weeks ago, the country was reporting less than 3,000 new cases per day. Jakarta, West Java, East Java and Bali have contributed the most to the daily increase. Likewise, the death toll increased by 57 people, setting a record during the Omicron wave.

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Active Covid-19 cases increased by 25,431, bringing the total to 188,899 cases. Meanwhile, the positivity rate, the ratio of positive test results among the total number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, is 40.49 percent, higher than last week’s average of 31.5 percent.

“Over the next month, we have to be careful outside Java and Bali because there will be a pattern [of an increase in Covid-19 cases], as was seen during the Delta wave [July-August 2021] and the first wave [January 2021],” the Health Ministry’s vaccination spokeswoman, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said in Jakarta.

Surpassing Delta

Since the first Omicron case was announced in mid-December 2021, Indonesia now has a total of 3,914 Omicron cases. According to Nadia, if the transmission rate is not suppressed, cases in other areas may potentially surpass the figure at the peak of the Delta wave. The public was thus urged to be more disciplined in following the health protocols.

The number of active Covid-19 cases in Bekasi municipality, West Java, had reached 10,124 cases, of which 9,271 were in self-isolation. Meanwhile, the Surabaya municipal administration was preparing a field hospital to anticipate a surge in Covid-19 patients.

KOMPAS

Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta Ahmad Riza Patria, appealed to the public to be aware of the increase in cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, following the deaths of two patients with the Omicron variant.

As for the last five days, the number of Covid-19 cases in Jakarta had increased significantly. According to Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria, the administration would propose to the central government that the level of public activity restrictions (PPKM) be raised.

However, the bed occupancy rate in Jakarta, the epicenter of Indonesia’s Covid-19 outbreak, has exceeded 60 percent.

The spike in infections across Java and Bali has been dominated by asymptomatic cases and cases showing mild symptoms. The nationwide hospital bed occupancy rate is currently at 23.35 percent. However, the bed occupancy rate in Jakarta, the epicenter of Indonesia’s Covid-19 outbreak, has exceeded 60 percent.

Although Omicron was milder than Delta, the spike in cases raised the risk of death among elderly patients and patients with comorbidities, and also increased the number of patients with “long Covid”.

“The number of Covid-19 patients we are treating is increasing,” said Dr. Eva Sri Diana, a pulmonary specialist in Jakarta. (TAM/AIK/BRO/AND/VAN/HLN)

(This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia)