"With the testing numbers recently being fairly good, the number of positive cases detected has actually decreased," Wiku Adisasmito, spokesman for the COVID-19 Task Force, noted in a written statement here on Friday.
According to data on the development of COVID-19 cases as of April 1, 2021, there were an additional 6,142 confirmed positive patients, with 121,222 active cases, or eight percent, as compared to the global average of 17.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of recovered patients reached 1,355,578, or 89.3 percent, as compared to the global average of 80.7 percent. There were 41,054 deaths, or 2.7 percent, as compared to the global average of 2.2 percent.
A decrease in the number of cases was not caused by declining COVID-19 testing numbers. The testing figures in Indonesia had in fact reached the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO), reaching as many as 276 thousand people per week.
"This means the current low transmission of COVID-19 is due to the reduced rate of transmission and not because of the low testing numbers," Adisasmito noted.
Adisasmito remarked that positive developments in handling COVID-19 must be welcomed amid the wave of rising cases globally. On the other hand, Indonesia is also able to survive amid the pandemic, with the number of cases not having increased in the last two months.
However, Indonesia, in the near future, will face the challenges of the Easter and Eid Al-Fitr holidays. These long holidays often cause a spike in the number of cases. Hence, he urged people to lower mobility.
"We need to remember that in order to reach this point, many lives that have been lost as well as time and money spent. Let us maintain this achievement by not being ignorant. On the contrary, we need to strengthen our collective determination to be disciplined in implementing the 3M health protocols and enforcing the 3T healthcare protocols and vaccinations as much as possible," Adisasmito stated. Related news: Jakarta's number of daily COVID-19 cases showed signs of slow down
Related news: Indonesia's daily COVID-19 count hits record high at 11,557
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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Katriana
Editor: Suharto
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