Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said that provinces experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases will receive an immediate warning.

"Provinces with increased cases of COVID-19 will be warned and given assistance to reduce positive cases," he informed during the plenary cabinet session at his office on Wednesday.

He emphasized that the focus of COVID-19 handling efforts is reducing daily cases and active cases.

"We know that our active cases are below 9 thousand and the number of daily cases is increasing between 300–400," he added.

He asked ministers to focus on provinces, districts, and cities experiencing an increase in cases, even if it is slight.

"We know that the United States is experiencing an increase with 70 thousand cases per day, The United Kingdom with 39 thousand cases, Russia is reaching 38 thousand, and Germany with 30 thousand daily cases. We must stay vigilant," Widodo stressed.

The Indonesian government has complete data on COVID-19 updates in the country, he said.

"Based on the data, we can see which city and district is experiencing an increase. We will give assistance to lower the daily cases," he added.

Related news: Gov't asks people to stay disciplined in following health protocols

Indonesia added 347 positive COVID-19 cases on November 16, 2021, which took the total count to 4,251,423.

As of Wednesday, Indonesia's active cases were recorded at 8,339, or equivalent to 0.2 percent of the total cases.

Meanwhile, with the addition of 515 recoveries, the number of people who have recovered from the virus reached 4,099,399. The nation added 15 deaths, taking the death toll to 143,685 as of November 16.

The coordinator of community mobility restrictions (PPKM) for Java-Bali, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said several cases were reported in Java-Bali.

Twenty-nine percent of districts/cities recorded an increase in cases compared to last week and 34 percent of districts/cities experienced an increase in hospitalized patients compared to last week, he informed.

In total, 26 districts/cities are enforcing Level 1 PPKM and 61 districts/cities are implementing Level 2 PPKM in Java-Bali, he said.

Related news: Govt strengthens surveillance to anticipate COVID cases
Related news: Task force urges regional govts to improve vaccination coverage




Translator: Desca Lidya N, Resinta S
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021