Friday, 29 March 2024

Indonesia’s death toll jumps to 19, expects more cases

Indonesia reported a surge in deaths due to COVID-19 yesterday, 18 March. The death toll jumped from five to 19, following days of confusion caused by “a problem in data input” that delayed the reporting of fatalities. Prior to the jump, three regional leaders reported on Sunday, 15 March, deaths in their respective areas. Health Ministry disease control and prevention director general Achmad Yurianto reportedly ignored the said reports for days.

The details of the deaths only became clear yesterday, when Yurianto finally specified where the fatalities happened. Twelve died in capital Jakarta as well as two in Central Java. Bali, Banten, East Java, West Java, and North Sumatra all recorded one death each. 

Cases in Indonesia also rose by 55, bringing the total to 227 infections. Health authorities expect further spikes in COVID-19 cases, as it has just allowed today, 19 March, 12 more laboratories to conduct testing.

With the new deaths, Worldometer now considers Indonesia as the country with the second highest mortality rate in the world from COVID-19 at 8.37%, next only to the Philippines at 8.4% or 17 deaths out of 202 confirmed infections.

Cases and deaths not just in Indonesia but the rest of Southeast Asia continue to accelerate. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already called out countries in the region to take more aggressive measures in flattening the infection curve. “More clusters of virus transmission are being confirmed. While this is an indication of an alert and effective surveillance, it also puts the spotlight on the need for more aggressive and whole of society efforts to prevent further spread of COVID-19. We clearly need to do more, and urgently,” said WHO regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh.  

 

Diary of Activities
Finance Vietnam 2024
18 July 2024
Finance Thailand 2024
25 July 2024