COVID-19:Indonesia death toll rises to 32, cases at 369

By Nicky Aulia Widadio

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) - Indonesia’s coronavirus death toll rose to 32 on Friday as authorities confirmed seven more fatalities in the country.

The number of cases also increased to 369, with 60 more cases reported in the last 24 hours.

“We have recorded seven more deaths so, as of today, 32 people have died, while 17 patients have recovered,” said Achmad Yurianto, the government’s spokesperson for coronavirus-related matters.

He said at a news conference in the capital Jakarta that the government was now focusing on tracking down people who may have come into contact with COVID-19 patients.

“Data of all patients has been sent to the Health Ministry to facilitate contact tracing. We will track down and monitor people who came into direct contact with the patients,” he explained.

A total of 17 provinces in Indonesia have reported COVID-19 cases, but more than half -- 215 cases -- have been reported in Jakarta.

Yurianto said the government was making all efforts to speed up coronavirus testing in the country. “We are currently preparing one million rapid testing kits,” he said.

According to government estimates, 600,000 to 700,000 people may have potentially been exposed to the virus in Indonesia.

The global death toll from COVID-19 has climbed above 10,000, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows the virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China, has spread to at least 163 countries and regions across the globe.

There have been over 245,000 confirmed cases since last December, and more than 86,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered so far.

* Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language service in Jakarta.