"If you look at the past seven days, nationally, positive cases have decreased from 56,757 on July 15 (2021) to 33,772 on July 21, or down 40 percent," head of the expert team of the task force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, said in Jakarta on Thursday.
The cure rate during the same period showed an increase of more than 70 percent, he added.
If we look at the percentage of active cases, it seems to have started to decline over the last three days, Adisasmito said.
The daily percentage of occupied hospital beds at the national level also decreased steadily over the past week from 76.26 percent to 72.8 percent, he informed.
"This good development deserves appreciation. I thank all health workers who have been tireless in caring for patients as well as all local governments who have moved quickly in assisting with patient reporting and (tracing) close contacts of COVID-19 (patients)," he remarked.
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However, testing for tracking COVID-19 cases needs to be improved in a number of areas and has become a serious concern, he said.
"The number of people being examined, which has decreased over the past four days, needs to be immediately pursued to increase again. Because the higher the testing, the more cases that can be detected and treated early," he explained.
Another thing that also needs to be a focus for related agencies is the death rate, which has tended to increase over the past week, Adisasmito pointed out.
"This should be used as a reflection for us together, especially for six days in a row, our deaths have reached more than one thousand every day," he said.
The death rate from COVID-19 can no longer be tolerated, he remarked.
"Because this is not just a number, it includes family, relatives, colleagues, and loved ones who have left us," he said.
The decline in positive cases and the increase in recoveries must be followed by a fall in the death rate in the community, he added.
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Translator: Andi F, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
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