Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia added 5,410 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with Jakarta adding the highest number of cases at 2,883, according to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

After Jakarta, the provinces with the highest number of new cases were West Java (952), Banten (644), East Java (311), and Bali (157), data received from the task force here showed.

The data also showed that 2,925 patients recovered from COVID-19 on Thursday. The provinces that recorded the most recoveries were Jakarta, with 1,820 recoveries, followed by West Java, with 383 recoveries; East Java, 303 recoveries; Banten, 170 recoveries; and Bali, with 79 recoveries.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose by five, with Jakarta reporting three fatalities, West Java one, and Central Java one.

Ever since Indonesia's first COVID-19 case was confirmed in March 2020, the country has recorded a total of 6,154,494 COVID-19 cases, 5,960,833 recoveries, and 156,880 deaths.

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As of Thursday, Indonesia's active COVID-19 cases or patients undergoing treatment stood at 36,781, an increase of 2,480 compared to the previous day.

The task force also reported that 6,200 people were categorized as suspects.

The number of specimens tested on Thursday was pegged at 122,986, with the positivity rate reaching 7.41 percent.

To boost community immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government rolled out a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, targeting as many as 208,265,720 citizens across the country.

According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of July 21, 2022, as many as 202,079,997 Indonesians have received the first vaccine dose, 169,703,944 have been administered the second dose, and 53,830,281 have taken the booster dose.

Earlier, an epidemiologist from Griffith University, Dicky Budiman, said that the implementation of public activity restrictions (PPKM) is still needed to control the transmission of COVID-19 in Indonesia.

"PPKM is important because it has proven to be effective, especially since the pandemic status is still applied," he added.

In addition to limiting activities, PPKM can also serve as a reminder to the public that the pandemic is not over yet, he said.

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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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