TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi called on his staffers to be more vigilant and keep up the hard work in containing the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Although the level of cases and the number of patients were under the global average, he admitted that the case fatality rate is relatively high.

“Watch out for the case fatality rate in Indonesia. Even though it drops from 7.83 percent in April to 4.2 percent this month, we still have big homework to decrease it more because our rate is still higher than the global rate of 3.6 percent. This is our big task,” said the President in an online limited meeting with governors at Bogor Presidential Palace, Tuesday, Sept. 1.

As of August 31, Jokowi said Indonesia’s positive cases reached 175,000 from around 2.2 million tests conducted. The recovery rate also increased, he added.

“In April, [the recovery rate] was 15 percent, and in August, it is 72.1 percent. So it is better, higher than the global average of 69 percent,” he noted.

He also reminded that there is currently an upward trend in positive cases in European and Asian countries, including Indonesia in its several regions. However, the president claimed the condition is relatively under control.

“This is what we have to maintain that the Covid-19 mitigation is still under control,” he said.

He further pushed all regional heads to continue to reduce the number of cases and cure affected patients. Should they face problems, Jokowi told them to immediately contact the central government and the national Covid-19 mitigation task force.

Read: COVID-19 Recoveries Increase, Fatality Rate Fluctuates: Wiku

EGI ADYATAMA