"The current cycle is experiencing an upward trend as a result of seasonal transition and other factors," Jakarta Health Office Head Ani Ruspitawati stated.
Despite this COVID-19 situation, she suggested the locals to stay alert while conducting outdoor activities to prevent getting infected by the coronavirus disease.
As of Thursday, the Jakarta Health Office had recorded 517 active COVID-19 cases, and the number of coronavirus cases is expected to move upward until mid-January of 2024, she remarked.
Of the figure, some 300 residents, who tested positive for COVID-19, are undergoing self-isolation owing to mild symptoms of the disease, while 217 others are hospitalized, she noted.
"We hope there will be a downward trend in the number of active COVID-19 cases after mid-January of 2024," she remarked.
Regarding the mortality rate, Jakarta's death toll from coronavirus was recorded at 16 as of December 26, 2023. The figure showed an upward trend as compared to three deaths in early December of 2023, she noted.
"As of December 26, some 16 people have died of the coronavirus. The case fatality rate is recorded at 0.8 percent," she remarked.
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In dealing with the situation, she said the number of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in Jakarta remains sufficient, and all hospitals in the city are ready to treat patients.
According to the Jakarta Health Office, seasonal transition, weakened immune system, and the emergence of new COVID-19 variant have triggered an upward trend in the number of coronavirus cases in the city.
ANTARA noted that the coronavirus outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 and then spread to various parts of the world, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Indonesian Government announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.
Since then, the central and regional governments have made persistent efforts to flatten the coronavirus curve by imposing healthcare protocols and social restrictions.
After fighting against the coronavirus for more than three years, on June 21, 2023, President Joko Widodo officially declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.
Since then, Indonesia entered the endemic stage, while the country's number of COVID-19 daily cases on the day President Widodo declared the end of the pandemic was close to zero.
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Translator: Siti N, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
