Jakarta (ANTARA) - As many as 21 provinces in Indonesia have experienced an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the past week, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health Mohammad Syahril has said.

"There are 21 provinces that are experiencing an increase in cases and 19 that are experiencing a decrease in cases," he informed at a press conference that was accessed virtually from here on Friday.

According to Syahril, in Java-Bali, Jakarta reported the highest COVID-19 positivity rate of around 8.6 percent, higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) threshold of 5 percent.

Meanwhile, the positivity rate in Bali stood at 2.4 percent, Banten 3.93 percent, and West Java 2.45 percent—which were all below the WHO standard, he further informed.

Nationally, the positivity rate was recorded at 3.97 percent, he pointed out.

On June 1, 2022, Indonesia recorded 368 daily cases, and the number of daily infections increased to 1,985 on June 22 and 1,907 on June 23.

Syahril noted that the increase in infections was in line with the rise in the number of cases of the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants in the country to 143 from 20 the previous week.

"The number of BA.4 cases is 21, and the number of BA.5 cases is 122. Regions with the most cases are Jakarta, 98 cases; West Java, 29 cases; Banten, 13 cases and Bali, 3 cases," he informed.

The first case of COVID-19 in Indonesia was confirmed in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of June 24, the nation has recorded 6,076,894 COVID-19 cases, 5,906,969 recoveries, and 156,711 deaths.

The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants were first detected in the country in four people in May 2022. The Ministry of Health received the results of the whole-genome sequencing study related to this finding on June 9.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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