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Many Jakarta, East Java residents assume they are immune to COVID-19: Task force chief
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A cyclist rides by a fake coffin guarded by a mannequin dressed in protective gear in Kemang, South Jakarta, on Aug. 17. The display was part of a campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of COVID-19. JP/Dhoni Setiawan (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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ecent research has shown that many members of the public in Jakarta and East Java assume they are immune to COVID-19 or even doubt there is a pandemic at all, COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo has said.
Doni, who also chairs the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said the study was carried out in five provinces, with Jakarta claiming the number one spot and East Java number two in terms of public denial regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
“So, if we look at today’s high numbers of cases in Jakarta and East Java, perhaps the data collected may be quite accurate,” Doni said in a meeting with the House of Representatives on Thursday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Doni, however, did not reveal the details of the study that he referred to.
The other three provinces they collected the data from were West Java, Central Java and South Kalimantan, where many residents also assumed they were immune to COVID-19, he said.
Those three provinces have also been hit hard by the pandemic.
He went on to say that the task force would deploy a joint team to educate the people in those provinces.
As of Thursday, Indonesia had recorded 184,268 cases, with 132,055 recoveries and 7,750 deaths. The country has logged several record-high numbers in the past week, with the highest daily toll of 3,622 new cases recorded on Thursday.
Jakarta has accounted for 22 percent of the total cases, with 42,041 cases and 1,246 as of Thursday, when 1,359 new cases were added.
Following Jakarta is East Java, with 34,278 cases and 2,459 deaths -- the highest number of deaths in the country. It is followed by Central Java with 14,428 cases, South Sulawesi with 12,194 cases, West Java with 11,481 cases and South Kalimantan with 8,416 cases. (syk)
