The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases have decreased in 10 prioritized provinces, but the figure remains high at 67.6 percent of the official nationwide tally, according to the national COVID-19 task force.
Regions prioritized for COVID-19 handling are Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Papua, Banten and Aceh.
Task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said the number of confirmed cases in the 10 provinces had decreased from 71.8 percent of the total cases nationwide on Sept. 13 to 67.6 percent on Sunday.
“Deaths in the prioritized provinces accounted for 77.6 percent of the national figure. The number had increased to 80.4 percent by Sept. 20 but has decreased to 80.1 percent as of Sunday,” Wiku said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the number of recovered patients in prioritized regions had decreased from 80.1 percent of the nationwide figure on Sept. 13 to 79.3 percent on Sunday.
Wiku added that active cases were declining in all prioritized provinces except South Sulawesi, where they had increased from 20.7 percent on Sept. 13 to 23.9 percent on Sunday, and Papua, where active cases rose from 22.7 percent to 35.7 percent in the corresponding period.
The spokesperson reasserted the importance of adhering to strict health protocols, emphasizing that washing one’s hands with soap could reduce transmission risks to 35 percent. Meanwhile, wearing a cloth and surgical mask could lower the chance of getting infected by 45 and 70 percent, respectively.
Maintaining a safe physical distance was also important and reduces the risk of infection by 85 percent, said Wiku.
