New Daily Record; Yogyakarta Logs 2,866 New Covid Cases

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Special Region of Yogyakarta recorded 2,866 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours as of Thursday, February 24. This is the highest number of cases recorded in a day since July 2021 when the city was hit by a wave of Delta infections.

"The total number of active cases is 21,749," Yogyakarta's Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson 19 Berty Murtiningsih said on Thursday.

The most number of infections reported is from Sleman Regency with 1,111 cases, followed by Bantu with 844.  

"The number of patients who died today increased by eight cases, three each in Sleman and Bantul, and one each in Kulon Progo and Gunungkidul Regencies," Berty said. 

Yogyakarta Governor, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, said that the recent uptick in cases is highly related to people's compliance to protocols, especially about mass gatherings. 

"This is not a problem of opening or closing [policies]. It's about whether people are willing to avoid crowds and follow health protocols," the Sultan said. 

The Sultan has ordered various crowd-attracting activities to be suspended, including cultural arts performances in public spaces such as the Malioboro area.

Meanwhile, Yogyakarta Secretary Kadarmanta Baskara Aji said the government has allocated almost Rp40 billion budget for unexpected uses in efforts to curb the case spike. "We have also asked all village shelters to be active, including government shelters," he said.

Read: Yogyakarta Wants Tourists with Covid to Isolate in Hotels

Pribadi Wicaksono (Kontributor)