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COVID-19: West Java health agency predicts cases will continue to climb amid PSBB
West Java is the nation’s second-hardest-hit province – behind Jakarta – with a total of 762 confirmed cases, or about 10 percent of the country’s official count of 7,418 as of Wednesday.
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A healthcare worker wearing protective gear takes a blood sample for a COVID-19 test in Bogor, West Java, on April 7. (REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan)
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he West Java health agency has said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province will continue to rise even as cities and regencies in the province begin implementing large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).
“In accordance with our initial prediction and with the efforts that have been made, we will see the peak occur between April 22 and May 29,” agency head Berli Hamdani said on Tuesday.
The Health Ministry approved requests from the Bogor and Depok administrations on April 11 to implement PSBB in the areas, and the restrictions were officially enacted on April 15. The Greater Bandung region enacted PSBB on Wednesday.
Berli said the PSBB policy would be evaluated on a daily basis.
West Java is the nation’s second-hardest-hit province – behind Jakarta – with a total of 762 confirmed cases, or about 10 percent of the country’s official count of 7,418 as of Wednesday.
Berli called on people in West Java to follow social restrictions in an orderly fashion.
“We must be disciplined in maintaining distance and avoiding crowds. Gatherings that are usually carried out during Ramadan should be limited, and we should remain at home,” said Berli.
Read also: COVID-19: West Java distributes cash, food to Greater Bandung residents prior to PSBB
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil has asked 27 regents and mayors in West Java, including those who have not requested PSBB implementation, to expand COVID-19 rapid testing.
Berli said the administration had distributed 93,000 rapid testing kits throughout the province and that his agency had received 71,000 test results, 1,664 of which were positive for COVID-19.
He said that those who had tested positive later underwent the more accurate, though slower, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which resulted in 397 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
“We have submitted the data to the Health Ministry and the number has been included in the national case report,” said Berli.
West Java COVID-19 task force secretary Daud Achmad said he strongly agreed with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s decision to ban the Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) prior to Ramadan.
“We have appealed to the public not to go home, not to go on holiday,” said Daud. “Hopefully, the ban can suppress and eventually cut off the spread of COVID-19.”
The West Java Transportation Agency reported that about 253,000 people had already returned to their hometowns in the province, based on data on arrivals registered at airports, seaports, train stations and bus terminals.
Last year, the agency recorded 3.6 million people entering West Java in the weeks before Idul Fitri. (syk)
