Anies Baswedan: Do Not See COVID-19 Numbers Only
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22 July 2020 19:03 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan asked the public not to look at the number of COVID-19 new daily cases only, but also at the novel coronavirus positivity rate or the transmission rate.
“I suggest all to not just see the numbers, but the positivity rate, its percentage,” said Anies on Wednesday, July 22, 2020.
He explained that the positivity rate shows the real increase in virus infection. According to Anies, the transmission figure of the latest highest daily-rise of 441 new cases was at around 8 percent, below the highest rate of 10.5 percent on July 11.
The rising number in daily cases was also attributable to the higher number of tests held by the city administration, the governor argued. Referred to its COVID-19 official website, Jakarta carried out 5,230 tests on Tuesday.
Since the pandemic was still ongoing, the test capacity must be improved further, Anies said. Besides, the majority of new cases were asymptomatic. Whereas, the number of people undergoing treatment did not rise significantly.
“We are increasing the test capacity to find more positive cases so that they can be isolated,” the former education and culture minister remarked.
Anies Baswedan reminded Jakartans to keep complying with the predetermined health protocols of wearing face masks and washing hands regularly.
As previously reported, Jakarta set a new record of the highest daily-rise in COVID-19 cases with 441 new infections on Tuesday, July 21, since the outbreak in March.
Read: Anies Baswedan: 66% of New COVID-19 Cases Are Asymptomatic
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