And that is proving to be a failure, even for Jakarta, which had successfully curbed virus transmission for weeks. The capital’s dense population and poor implementation of health protocol have become major hurdles for the reopening.

Jakarta, which had been hardest hit by the outbreak, managed to slow the virus reproduction rate, leading to its decision last month to gradually reopen offices and business centers. But a surge in cases over the past week has shown that the capital has yet to get a grip on the virus, and crowds caused by the reopening may have contributed to the infection spike.

As of Monday, Jakarta has recorded 14,797 cases with 697 deaths and 9,408 recoveries, making it the hardest-hit province after East Java.

Governor Anies Baswedan said the share of people testing positive had doubled to 10.5 percent of the total number of people tested. The largest clusters come from hospitals, which accounted for about 45 percent of the cases, followed by local communities at 38 percent, while the rest came from traditional markets, migrant workers and offices.

The significant rise in local communities has been discovered because public health centers (Puskesmas) have upped testing in residential areas, including the densely populated kampungs. Many of those who tested positive did not show any symptoms and would not have known about their status had the health officials not come to them.

But mass testing does not adequately explain Jakarta’s drastic surge in infections.

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