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Indonesia’s COVID-19 recoveries climb to more than 50 percent
More than 50,000 Indonesians will worry less than the rest of us about COVID-19, because they have already contracted and recovered from the disease. While the numbers of infections and deaths keep rising as the pandemic shows no signs up letting, so too does the number of people who have coveted antibodies.
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Invisible threat: Wearing a hazmat suit, a member of the TransJakarta supporters community holds up a placard featuring the latest COVID-19 case figures at Harmoni Station in Central Jakarta on July 17 to remind passengers of complying with health protocol. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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ore than 50,000 Indonesians will worry less than the rest of us about COVID-19, because they have already contracted and recovered from the disease. While the numbers of infections and deaths keep rising as the pandemic shows no signs of letting up, so too does the number of people who have coveted antibodies.
As of Thursday, 55.7 percent of all Indonesians confirmed as COVID-19 positive have been cleared of the infection, according to National COVID-19 task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito.
That figure is up from fewer than 4 percent in March, as the recovery process typically takes several weeks.
"We must be optimistic but remain vigilant. If patients under self-isolation see their condition worsen, they should immediately go to the hospital before it’s too late," Wiku said in a press briefing on Friday.
The daily number of recovered patients saw increasing trend over nearly the past two weeks. For instance, Wiku said, the government's data recorded 878 new recoveries on July 10 and the number had increased to 1,909 on July 23. The highest one-day increase was recorded on July 19 when 2,133 patients were declared to have recovered.
The official tally of COVID-19 infections in the country stands at 95,418 cases as of Friday, with the government reporting 1,781 new recoveries, bringing the total of recovered patients to 53,945.
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The task force also reported that the national fatality rate had gradually decreased, while the absolute number of daily deaths was fluctuating.
At first, the average COVID-19 death rate in the country was 4.89 percent in March and it increased to 8.64 percent in April, Wiku said. However, it began to decline to 7.66 percent in May and to 5.56 percent in June.
The highest maximum death rate within a month was reported in April with 9.5 percent. In July, the maximum death rate decreased to 5.08 percent, while the average death rate was 4.86 percent. “We are close to the world’s average death rate, which is 4.2 percent,” said Wiku.
As of Friday, the official COVID-19 death toll made public by the government stands at 4,665 after the Health Ministry reported 89 new deaths.
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Wiku said the declining death rate was made possible by better COVID-19 case management in hospitals and more health workers having adequate knowledge of COVID-19 handling.
Indonesia now has 23,519 isolation rooms and 188,510 isolation beds in 839 COVID-19 referral hospitals across the country, according to the task force's data.
Despite what the government described as encouraging developments regarding the COVID-19 situation, Wiku asserted that the public should remain disciplined by complying with health protocols.
“Let’s remind each other to wear masks and wash our hands regularly. COVID-19 cases are still found in public places, tourist attractions and other places where crowds are present,” he said.
