Indonesia records over 4,000 new virus cases, 89 deaths

By Nicky Aulia Widadio

JAKARTA (AA) - Indonesia on Thursday reported 4,065 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 425,796, according to health authorities.

Wiku Adisasmito, a spokesman for the COVID-19 task force, said in a news conference that the total number of recoveries reached 357,142 with 3,860 additions over the past day.

“At least 89 more fatalities were reported over the past day, taking the tally to 14,348,” said Adisasmito.

Currently, there are 54,306 active cases -- patients who are still under treatment -- in the country.

The capital Jakarta reported the highest daily surge with 797 cases, taking the local tally to 109,411.

The spokesman said the coronavirus measures in Indonesia have shown good results in general as seen from the decline in positive cases and death rate.

He noted that the new cases dropped by 17% last week compared to the previous, while the number of fatalities fell by 18%.

- 'Pandemic may last till 2022'

An epidemiologist from University of Indonesia, Iwan Ariawan, said the number of infections in the country cannot be said to have dropped despite the flattening curve in the last few weeks.

“The curve does not represent the real pandemic situation as the number of tests has also dropped,” he told Anadolu Agency.

The number of daily tests has fallen to 20,000-30,000 specimens, lower than the previous average of 30,000-40,000 tests a day, according to Ministry of Health.

Ariawan said the number of tests declined as many private laboratories were closed during long holidays late October.

"It's too early to draw a conclusion. There is still concern that cases would spike again in two weeks due to holidays,” he added.

He predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will be under control by late 2021 or early 2022.

Ariawan suggested the government to make a long-term plan and strengthen surveillance instead of depending on uncertain vaccines.

* Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian-language service in Jakarta.