JAKARTA (JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Indonesia has reported the highest daily Covid-19 surge the country has yet seen with 8,369 new cases, shattering all previous single-day records by a few thousand.
The latest spike reported on Thursday (Dec 3) brings the total nationwide tally to 557,877 confirmed cases, 17,355 of which have ended deadly, while 462,553 patients have recovered.
Papua recorded the highest single-day jump in the archipelago with 1,775 additional cases. Significant spikes were also reported in West Java and Jakarta with 1,648 and 1,153 cases, respectively.
National Covid-19 task force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito attributed the soaring numbers to a lag in real-time data synchronisation between the central government and regional administrations.
"For instance, Papua has reported 1,755 new cases, which is the cumulative total of positive cases logged since Nov 19 until today," Wiku said during an online press conference on Thursday.
He further urged regional leaders to immediately report the latest Covid-19 data in their respective communities to the central government so as to ensure greater accuracy.
Wiku conveyed concern over a reported decline in public compliance with Covid-19 health protocol as the year draws to a close. Citing the latest government data, he said only nine of 512 regencies and municipalities reported proper adherence to the mask-wearing rule.
Furthermore, only 4 per cent of all regencies and municipalities across the country had reported satisfactory compliance with the physical distancing rule, he said.
"We can conclude that the recent long weekend (from Oct 28 to Nov 1) was the main trigger for such a decline in public discipline," he said.
"The public must realise that negligence can prove fatal."
Meanwhile, a study from Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit (EOCRU) shows that Covid-19 patients in Greater Jakarta died within an average of 11 days after they started having symptoms, which is faster compared to patients from other countries.
The study, which was conducted within the first five months of the pandemic, also revealed that the area also has the highest mortality rate for children under five years old.
These conditions are caused by late detection and late hospitalisation. Henry Surendra, one of the EOCRU researchers, said the study had involved 4,265 adults and children patients at 55 different Covid-19 hospitals.
The study also found that the infection pattern for patients in Jakarta reflects the condition of Covid-19 patients worldwide. Most patients experience fever, coughing, breathing difficulties and discomfort, and over 40 per cent are diagnosed with pneumonia upon being admitted to hospitals.
The death rate reached 12 per cent or 497 out of 4,265 cases. A majority of deaths, or 78 per cent, occurred in patients aged 50 and above, while children aged 0 to 4 made up 11 per cent of fatalities, and people aged 60 to 69 and 70 made up 22 percent and 34 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to reduce the number of collective leave days for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, including off days promised in compensation for forgone Idul Fitri leave, to avoid more case spikes.
According to the new arrangements, the country will enjoy a total of eight days off, namely from Dec 24 to 27 for the Christmas holiday, only Dec 31 for the Idul Fitri substitute leave, as well as Jan 1 to 3 for the New Year celebration.
As reported by kompas.com, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah has tested positive for Covid-19. She is the latest in a string of state officials who have contracted the disease.
