TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria stated that the capital city is now a Covid-19 red zone. "Indeed, in the past few weeks the capital has become a red zone," he said at City Hall, Central Jakarta, Wednesday night, June 23.

Jakarta has been recording an increasing number of active cases as well as a high positivity rate.

On June 23, Jakarta's number of active cases rose by 3,514 to total at 35,705 patients.

Meanwhile, the capital's positivity rate over the last week stood at 27.7 percent, while the overall is 11.4 percent. This is above the World Health Organization's safe threshold of five percent positivity rate.

"However, we have a high recovery rate of 91 per cent. Our mortality rate is 1.7 percent and our PCR capability is almost 12 times the WHO standard," the deputy governor said.

Jakarta's Covid-19 cases have been soaring since June 9, after people returned from their Eid holidays, plus due to the emergence of new variants of concern.

The government decided to tighten measures for the Micro-scale Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) that adheres to the central government's policy.

Minister Airlangga Hartarto, head of the Covid-19 Relief and National Economic Recovery Committee (KPC-PEN), said the government will impose tighter PPKM micro measures for two weeks, from June 22 to July 5.

Read More: Jakarta's Burial Rate of Covid-19 Victims Grow Significantly

LANI DIANA WIJAYA