VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Ten Indonesian provinces have successfully managed to bring down their coronavirus infection and death rates through the third round of micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM Mikro), according to the national COVID-19 task force.

The imposition of the PPKM Mikro policy from March 9 to 22, 2021 has also resulted in an increase in recovery rates in the targeted provinces — Banten, West Java, Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Bali, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, and North Sumatra, it stated.

"The recovery rate and level of public compliance with the health protocols in the 10 provinces has also increased," the task force's spokesperson, Wiku Adisasmito, said on Tuesday.

The decline in confirmed COVID-19 cases and rising recovery rates have resulted in a significant drop in bed occupancy rates at hospitals, Adisasmito informed.

In the eight weeks since the PPKM Mikro policy was enforced in the 10 provinces, the number of new confirmed cases has decreased significantly, he said.

At the national level, the infection rate has gone down up to 25.42 percent, while the death rate has also shown a declining trend under the enforcement of PPKM Mikro for nine weeks, he added.

The continued imposition of the PPKM Mikro has also led to a fall in the bed occupancy rates at hospital intensive care units and isolation rooms in each of the 10 provinces, he said.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta provincial administration has extended the implementation of its PPKM Mikro policy till April 5, 2021.

The extension is aimed at maintaining the decline in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the capital city.

PPKM has so far yielded significant results in reducing the number of confirmed infections in the city, head of Jakarta Health Office, Widyastuti, said earlier on Tuesday.

Jakarta recorded a sharp fall in confirmed cases following the implementation of PPKM, with the number of cases dipping from 7,439 on March 8 this year to 5,747 on March 16.

Indonesia has been striving to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic ever since the government officially announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

To contain the spread of infections, the government has not only imposed the PPKM Mikro, but also rolled out a nationwide vaccination program since January 13 this year.

The Health Ministry has estimated that the vaccination of around 181.5 million people under the national program could take 15 months.

To achieve herd immunity and free the nation from the clutches of the pandemic, which has triggered serious public health and economic crises, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has pushed for successfully administering the COVID-19 vaccine to the targeted population.

Indonesia's COVID-19 infection rate crossed one million cases on January 26, 2021. (Antaranews)