Yes, this is asymptomatic patients' survey data from August to February 2021Jakarta (ANTARA) - Based on a survey conducted from August 2020 to February 2021, the Health Ministry has estimated the number of Indonesians who were confirmed positive for COVID-19 at 16 million.
They included both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, it added.
"Yes, this is asymptomatic patients' survey data from August to February 2021," spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccinations at the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, informed here on Friday.
During the period, 60–80 percent of people infected with COVID-19 did not show symptoms, and therefore went undiagnosed, she said.
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The asymptomatic patients' survey was conducted by the Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Faculty of Health, University of Indonesia, she added.
The survey was conducted in order to obtain seroprevalence data within a year of the pandemic striking the country, Tarmizi said. "So, it's not the result of screening the estimated number of people infected with COVID-19," she informed.
She confirmed that most asymptomatic patients in Indonesia were reported to have recovered. "Because if it gets worse, the report will definitely reach the health facility and it will definitely be diagnosed," she added.
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According to Tarmizi, testing and tracing for COVID-19 in Indonesia has approached the standard, and testing has even exceeded the WHO's standard.
Currently, the national COVID-19 testing rate is 3.25 per 1,000 population, she disclosed. The standard set by WHO for the COVID-19 testing rate is 1 per 1,000 population, she said.
Earlier Tarmizi had said that the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia has crossed 4.2 million so far. She estimated that the actual number would be four times the figure, that is, 16 million, if the approximate number of asymptomatic patients is included.
The figure is the result of a seroprevalence survey conducted with the Faculty of Public Health, the University of Indonesia, she pointed out.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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