Coronavirus pandemic

Indonesia sees biggest daily jump of Covid-19 deaths

JAKARTA • Indonesia reported 87 new coronavirus deaths yesterday, its biggest daily jump so far, bringing the total number of fatalities to 3,797, its Health Ministry said.

Indonesia also reported 1,522 new coronavirus infections, taking the overall tally to 80,094 cases, ministry official Achmad Yurianto told a televised news briefing.

The capital city Jakarta recorded 260 new confirmed cases, bringing the total tally there to 15,324.

Within the past 24 hours, seven provinces, namely North Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java and South Sulawesi, recorded high numbers of cases, Mr Yurianto said.

He called on the public to obey the implemented health protocols in a bid to avoid more Covid-19 infections.

Meanwhile, Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque clarified that the country had been able to slow down the spread of the coronavirus until lockdown measures were lifted. He had earlier said that the Philippines had already flattened the infection curve.

"We flattened the curve for some time until we started opening up," Dr Duque said in a statement yesterday.

A lockdown over large parts of the country has served its purpose as it now takes eight days for Covid-19 cases to double, he said. It took only three days in April.

"We will continue to see increases in cases, but what we need to make sure of is that they don't translate to deaths," he said.

The Philippines reported 1,392 new infections yesterday, taking the tally to 58,850, the second-highest in the region and a nearly 600 per cent jump from the 8,488 cases in end-April, according to data.

In that same period, the number of deaths also nearly tripled from 568 to 1,614.

In May, Dr Duque said the country was already experiencing its second wave of coronavirus infections, prompting a correction from the Department of Health.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was due to decide yesterday whether to maintain partial restrictions in the capital Manila to slow the spread of the virus as some hospitals reach critical care capacity.

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, XINHUA

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 16, 2020, with the headline Indonesia sees biggest daily jump of Covid-19 deaths. Subscribe