Indonesia has identified a new Covid-19 cluster in Bangkalan regency in Madura, East Java, a week after reporting a similar flare-up in Kudus regency in Central Java, as the country scrambles to contain a surge in cases following the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays last month.
The authorities have deployed more doctors and nurses to the two regencies where hospitals are near full capacity, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told reporters yesterday.
Some patients have also been moved to other cities for treatment, he said.
The bed occupancy rates in Kudus and Bangkalan hospitals have reportedly reached above 90 per cent.
National police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said movement restrictions have been tightened in the two areas.
The flare-ups may just be the tip of the iceberg, according to a senior national government official.
One major challenge that the national government is facing is the late reporting of new cases by local governments, which delayed the contact-tracing process.
"There are regions where lab test results were not promptly submitted to the national Covid-19 records," Dr Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a Health Ministry spokesman, told The Straits Times.
The national online tabulation system keeps track of the daily infection rates across Indonesia.
The world's fourth-most populous nation - with 270 million people - has 34 provinces that are made up of more than 500 regencies and towns.
Indonesia has recorded 1.86 million infections and more than 51,803 deaths so far.
Amid suspicions, it remains unclear whether the regions deliberately delayed disclosing their Covid-19 data to hide the problem.
National Covid-19 task force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito said last Friday that the actuality and accuracy of Indonesia's data are heavily dependent on the reporting system and transparency of each of the regions.
He urged all regions to improve their reporting system.
Bangkalan had a record 190 new confirmed Covid-19 patients in the nine days to last Friday, 34 of whom died, local media reported.
Many of the recent patients died within 48 hours after being admitted to hospital.
As at Sunday, Bangkalan, with a population of one million, has recorded 1,779 confirmed cases and 180 fatalities.
Bangkalan's Covid-19 taskforce head, Mr Agus Sugianto Zain, told reporters that family clusters were among the main reasons for the surge. Bangkalan is also a hometown of many Indonesian migrant workers.
There were huge traffic jams over the weekend on the causeway between Madura and the main island of Java, as the local authorities stopped every vehicle coming from the smaller island and required their occupants to take a swab test before they could proceed on their journey.
Kudus, Java's smallest regency with 871,000 people, saw a sevenfold rise in cases between Hari Raya, around mid-May, and late last week, and recorded 8,757 confirmed cases.
Officials are investigating if a more transmissible variant of the coronavirus is also responsible for the surge in cases.
Kudus officials have attributed the surge to increased social visits and religious gatherings during Hari Raya and lax enforcement of strict health protocols among visitors at recreational centres.
The regency has also seen an influx of patients from neighbouring areas who turned up to be tested after the Djarum Foundation donated sophisticated testing equipment to three main hospitals. The influx has further complicated the hospital situation.
Nationwide, the authorities have set aside 72,000 hospital beds to treat Covid-19 patients, of which 31,000 are currently occupied, up from 22,000 last month, said Mr Budi.
"We at the health ministry are preparing for the worst - that all patients must be admitted to hospitals," he added.
Adding to the late reporting problem is weak contact tracing in the regions, said Dr Nadia.
"Regions are not doing maximum efforts in contact tracing, hence they cannot cut the chain of transmission fast," she said in a mobile phone text message to ST.
