Indonesia Covid-19 Daily Count Hit 54,000; Luhut: It Can Still Increase

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Java-Bali Emergency PPKM Coordinator Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the country’s Covid-19 daily cases in the past week jumped by 44.51 percent compared to the previous week’s count. On Wednesday, July 14, he added, Indonesia even logged 54,517 new infections.

“I think this is the highest number, and it can still increase,” said Luhut in a press conference in Jakarta, Thursday, July 15.

The Health Ministry also recorded seven regions that contributed the highest daily count. The first position was Jakarta with 12,667 new cases, followed by West Java with 10,444 cases, East Java with 7,088 cases, Central Java with 5,110 cases, Banten with 3,898 cases, Yogyakarta with 2,350 cases, and East Kalimantan with 1,658 cases.

Luhut acknowledged that the surge occurred during the enforcement of the social restriction dubbed Emergency PPKM which was effective from July 3 until July 20. The current condition, he added, was different from those previous policies, such as PSBB and Micro PPKM. “[The number of cases] also increases but it is relatively under control.”

Presently, Indonesia is dealing with the Delta variant. According to him, the incubation period is between 14 to 21 days. “Based on what I read, it is six-fold more infectious than the Alpha variant,” Luhut said.

Thus, Luhut concluded that it was possible that Covid-19 cases in almost all regions in Java were dominated by the Delta variant. “We are facing a different enemy,” he said.

Read also: Delta Variant Hits 9 Indonesian Provinces, Spreads Faster: Health Minister

FAJAR PEBRIANTO