With the SARS-CoV-2 virus continuing to spread at an alarming rate, more and more public figures are contracting COVID-19, including United States President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, high-ranked officials, including Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi and Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi, have also tested positive for COVID-19.

However, despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases around the globe, a Statistics Indonesia (BPS) survey has discovered that 17 percent of Indonesians believe it is impossible for them to contract the disease.

“It is a huge number,” said national COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo during a virtual event on Friday.

Doni explained that given the country’s population of 270 million people, 17 percent meant that 44.9 million people believed they would not catch the virus.

He went on to say that a previous survey conducted in July had revealed that there were five provinces with high percentages of COVID-19 ignorance, namely Jakarta, where 30 percent of people believe they will not catch the virus, followed by East Java with 29 percent, Central Java 18 percent, West Java 16 percent and South Kalimantan 14 percent.

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