TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The number of Covid-19 cases among children in West Java was indeed the highest at 45,450, followed by Riau with 9,224 cases, Central Java with 6,654 cases, West Sumatra with 6,037 cases, and East Kalimantan with 5,774 cases.

West Java also reported the highest number of child deaths due to the disease with 61 cases. The figure is far above other provinces with the number of deaths below 50.

Referring to the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture data as of June 12, 2021, Central Java reported the second-highest number of deaths among children with 48 cases, followed by South Sulawesi with 37 cases, Jakarta with 36 cases, and East Java with 24 cases.

Children have become one of the groups at risk of being exposed to coronavirus disease. The Coordinating Ministry’s data also found that 12.3 percent of the total caseload were children. In detail, 2.8 percent of them were children aged 0-5 and the rest 9.5 percent were children aged 6-18.

Death cases among children exposed to Covid were also caused by comorbid diseases. The high comorbidities were then exacerbated by unequal distribution of health services in the archipelago.

The Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture said that the highest comorbidity found in Covid-19 death cases among children was malignant disease at 17.3 percent, followed by malnutrition at 16.6 percent, congenital heart disease at 8.9 percent, genetic disease at 6.5 percent, tuberculosis at 5.7 percent, chronic kidney at 5.8 percent, and cerebral palsy at 3.8 percent.

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EGI ADYATAMA