With the increase in cases in the north, in Europe, we must be vigilant about guarding our borders
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia must beef up border security in view of the significant increase in coronavirus cases in several countries, spokesperson for the Task Force for COVID-19 Handling, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, cautioned on Monday. "With the increase in cases in the north, in Europe, we must be vigilant about guarding our borders," he said during a dialogue organized by the COVID-19 task force at Graha BNPB in Jakarta.

To avoid imported infections, several things need to be taken into consideration, such as the arrival of Indonesian migrant workers from abroad and the Umrah pilgrimage that has begun, he added.

The coordinator of the expert team of the task force stressed on strictly implementing quarantine and testing for those returning from abroad so there are no imported cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia.

"The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia should be controlled because we have had eight months of experience working together," he emphasized.

Regarding cases in Indonesia, Adisasmito said COVID-19 infections are currently relatively under control, with the percentage of active cases pegged at 12.52 percent, which is much lower than the global average of 26.79 percent.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's recovery rate stands at 84.14 percent, which is also better compared to the world average of 70.71 percent.

Indonesia's death rate is now at 3.34 percent, which is higher than the global average of 2.5 percent, Adisasmito said.

As of Sunday, the COVID-19 recovery rate in Jakarta stood at 90.9 percent, with 101,791 of the total 112,027 confirmed patients recovering from the virus.

According to the Jakarta provincial government’s website (corona.jakarta.go.id), Jakarta recorded 975 fresh cases in the 24 hours ending Sunday.

The capital city recorded seven COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total toll to 2,359 and the death rate to 2.1 percent.

The number of active cases reached 7,870, or down 156 from 8,026 the previous day.

Meanwhile, the confirmed case rate in Jakarta was pegged at 8.3 percent. The capital city reported its first two COVID-19 cases in early March this year.

On Saturday, the Indonesian Ministry of Health recorded 4,262 fresh COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour period, taking the case tally to 433,836 nationwide.

The ministry registered 3,712 recoveries, which took the total tally to 364,417. Meanwhile, with 98 patients succumbing to the virus, the death toll reached 14,540.

Meanwhile, the number of suspected cases of COVID-19 were recored at 56,461.

Coronavirus infections were reported in 503 districts of 34 provinces in the country.

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Translator: Prisca T, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
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