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Indonesia records its lowest rate of positive coronavirus tests
The positivity rate, or the proportion of people tested who are positive, peaked at 33.4 percent in July when Indonesia became Asia's coronavirus epicentre, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.
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Travelers take a line to get COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at Terminal 2 in the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II requires travelers to provide officers with negative antigen test results to avoid possible virus case surge following year-end holidays. (Antara/Fauzan)
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ndonesia's daily coronavirus positivity rate dropped below the World Health Organization's (WHO) benchmark standard of 5 percent this week for the first time, an indicator the country's devastating second wave could be easing.
The positivity rate, or the proportion of people tested who are positive, peaked at 33.4 percent in July when Indonesia became Asia's coronavirus epicentre, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.
On Monday that rate fell to 4.57 percent, the lowest since March 2020, when Indonesia's first cases were reported, according to independent data initiative, Kawal COVID-19.
A rate above 5 percent indicates coronvirus is out of control, the WHO says.
Kawal co-founder Elina Ciptadi said the trend was a good sign, although she cautioned that official data could not capture a dearth of underreported cases and deaths.
"All in all, what we are seeing is encouraging," she said.
Since its July peak, the average positivity rate has fallen steadily, from 23.8 percent in the first week of August to 11.3 percent in the final week of that month, to 6.2 percent on average so far in September
