In the last two weeks, there has been an increase of positive COVID-19 cases, at least four times a surge in cases has been seen in Jakarta.
The number of positive COVID-19 patients in DKI Jakarta as of Tuesday 4th August has reached 22,909 people. Approximately 880 of the patients have died. Meanwhile, an estimated 7,648 people are in isolation and are being treated.
The first spike:
On 27th July, there were an additional 473 cases of COVID-19 in Jakarta alone. At the time, Ani Ruspitawati, the Head of Health Resources, DKI Jakarta Provincial Health Office, claimed that the cases accumulated over 25-26th July.
The second spike:
On 29th July, DKI recorded the highest number of new cases again with a total of 584 cases. This was the highest addition to the COVID-19 cases in Jakarta since the beginning of COVID-19 in the city.
Anies Baswedan, DKI Jakarta’s Governor, explained that the sudden increase in COVID-19 cases was as a result of the large-scale examination conducted by the government.
The third spike:
On 3rd August, DKI Jakarta recorded another high number of cases with 489 positives. The government did not provide any specific explanation regarding the surge in COVID-19 cases that day.
The fourth spike:
On 4th August, an additional 466 cases were reported. Once again, there was no specific reason provided as to why there was a sudden surge in positive cases.
Over the last two weeks, there has been an increase in COVID-19 cases per day.
The following details provide the number of cases per day over the last two weeks.
- 22nd July: +382 cases (17,535 cases)
- 23rd July: +416 cases (17,951 cases)
- 24th July: +279 cases (18,230 cases)
- 25th July: +393 cases (18,623 cases)
- 26th July: +378 cases (19,001 cases)
- 27th July: +473 cases (19,474 cases)
- 28th July: +412 cases (19,886 cases)
- 29th July: +584 cases (20,470 cases)
- 30th July: +299 cases (20,769 cases)
- 31st July: +432 cases (21,201 cases)
- 1st August: +374 cases (21,575 cases)
- 2nd August: +379 cases (21,954 cases)
- 3rd August: +489 cases (22,443 cases)
- 4th August: +466 cases (22,909 cases)
Exceeding WHO limits:
According to Dwi Oktavia Tatri Lestari, Head of the Division of Disease Prevention and Control, the rate of positive PCR test results still exceeds the WHO’s ideal limit of no more than 5%.
“The positive rate, or percentage of positive cases, in the past week in Jakarta is approximately 7.8%. In Indonesia, it is 15.3%,” Dwi said.
As testing has increased, there has been an evident increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19.
Idris Ahmad, Chairman of the PSI Faction of DKI Jakarta DPRD has also raised concerns and questioned Anies Baswedan’s policies. Idris has urged Anies to implement emergency brake policies to reduce the number of positive cases as soon as possible and extend PSBB.
Idris has also criticised the implementation of PSBB conditions, predominantly in clusters such as markets and office buildings. “I remind us all to not let this surge continue so we do not have to pull the emergency brake. If that happens, we must return to our homes and social, economic, and religious activities will cease,” responded Anies.