VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Fifteen Indonesian provinces, most of them located in Sumatra, have reported a rise in active coronavirus cases, chief of the Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (KPC-PEN), Airlangga Hartarto, has said.

"But if we look at (the data), the weekly cases in Sumatra Island are showing an upward trend compared to the first week of April (2021)," Hartarto, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, said in an official statement released on Monday.

The 15 provinces with rising infections are Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, Bangka Belitung, Jakarta, Maluku, Banten, West Nusa Tenggara, North Maluku, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, and Gorontalo.

In response to the spike in active cases, the government will continue to step up surveillance of people moving from one area to another, particularly after the Eid al-Fitr festivity, Hartarto said.

Despite the increase, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Indonesia is relatively controllable, he added.

As per the latest data from KPC-PEN, Indonesia’s active cases account for 5.2 percent of the total cases compared to 11.09 percent globally.

The number of national active cases in mid-May, 2021 fell 48.6 percent compared to the peak recorded on February 5, 2021, according to KPC-PEN data. Meanwhile, the national bed occupancy rate (BOR) is relatively low at 29 percent.

However, several provinces have recorded a relatively high BOR, including North Sumatra at 57 percent, Riau (52 percent), Riau Islands (49 percent), West Sumatra (49 percent), South Sumatra (47 percent), Bangka Belitung (45 percent), Jambi (43 percent), and Lampung (38 percent). (Antaranews)