Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the peak in the number of COVID-19 cases in several regions in the islands of Java and Bali has passed.

"This is the moment that we should be grateful despite all the strengths and weaknesses that we have," he told a virtual press conference that ANTARA joined from Jakarta on Monday.

Based on the graphics of reported daily cases, the number of COVID-19 cases in Java and Bali reached its peak on July 15, 2021 with 43.925 cases, but it has declined by 60 percent.

He expressed his gratitude to health workers, regional heads, the army, and the police for their patience and performance during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I know that this is not one hundred percent done, and we need to be careful in accordance with the President's directives," the minister noted.

Sadikin explained that the primary strategy to prevent COVID-19 in the world is by not allowing the number of patients who need treatment in hospitals outnumbers the capacity of the available facilities.

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He argued that during a pandemic, nothing is over quickly. Instead, it may even take longer time.

Since the coronavirus hit Indonesia last year, the government has set out four strategies to reduce infection rate by referring to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) guidelines.

The strategies -- abiding by the health protocol by wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and washing hands (3M), testing, tracing, and treatment (3T), vaccinations, as well as patient treatment -- must simultaneously be carried out.

Sadikin went on to say that almost 70 percent of Indonesia’s COVID-19 cases were found in Java-Bali but thanks to the enforcement of the emergency and level 4 public activity restrictions since July 3, the number of cases started to decline.

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