Indonesia adds 5.6K new infections to overall 1.6M Covid-19 cases

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s daily coronavirus cases climbed by 5,647 on Thursday, taking the total tally since the start of the pandemic in March, 2020 to 1,697,305, according to data from the Health Ministry.

The highest number of daily cases was recorded in West Java (1,038), followed by Jakarta (905) and Riau (502).

Meanwhile, the number of active cases rose by 60 in the 24 hours ended 12 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Thursday, taking the total count to 98,277. As many as 76,273 specimens were examined, while the number of suspected cases stood at 77,775.

With 147 people succumbing to the virus on Thursday, the death toll reached 46,496.

Meanwhile, the number of recoveries rose 5,440, bringing the total tally to 1,552,532.

According to data released by the ministry, the highest number of single-day recoveries were recorded in West Java (1,588), followed by Central Java (407) and Yogyakarta (319).

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government has imposed a ban on homecoming journey, locally called mudik for Eid al-Fitr celebration at hometowns, to prevent a spike in the Covid-19 transmission.

Mudik usually triggers an exodus as millions of people leave big cities and head for their rural hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr Islamic celebration with relatives.

The mudik ban is imposed by the government starting May 6 until May 17, 2021, as parts of restrictions against the Covid-19 spread.

Head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Doni Monardo, concurrently COVID-19 Handling Task Force Head, has urged the people at large to not breach the homebound travel ban. (Antara)