VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Wisma Atlet Kemayoran emergency hospital in Central Jakarta received 405 other COVID-19 patients over the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the total number of those hospitalized to 89,111 since March 23, 2020.

Currently, 3,626 patients are being hospitalized in Towers 4, 5, 6, and 7, the hospital's spokesperson, Colonel Aris Mudian, stated here on Thursday.

Some 84,489 of the 89,111 hospitalized patients had fully recovered and were discharged from hospital, he remarked.

Despite the hospital's relatively high recovery rate, 89 patients had succumbed to the disease, while 907 others were sent to other COVID-19 referral hospitals, he remarked.

In the meantime, the COVID-19 emergency hospital on Galang Island in Riau Islands Province is currently treating 50 COVID-19 patients, including a symptomatic resident admitted to the hospital in the past 24 hours.

The 50 patients comprise 31 men and 19 women, he remarked, adding that this Galang Island-based emergency hospital had received 13,896 patients since April 12, 2020.

The COVID-19 outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and thereafter spread across the world, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indonesian government announced the nation's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

The central and regional governments have thereafter striven incessantly to flatten the coronavirus disease curve by applying healthcare protocols and social restrictions.

To break the chain of spread of COVID-19, which had dampened the purchasing power of families throughout Indonesia, the government also banned homebound travel, or "mudik," ahead of this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday season, akin to the protocol followed last year.

Vice Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono projected the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, in the wake of the Eid al-Fitr festivity, to peak in mid-June of 2021.

In halting new transmission clusters, the government is planning to extend the quarantine period for travelers arriving from abroad, particularly from countries hit by the COVID-19 crisis, to 14 days, from the previous five days.

Currently, Indonesia's total count of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 1.8 million amid the government's ongoing efforts to win the battle against COVID-19 that has acutely impacted the economy and public health.

As part of its efforts to tackle the pandemic, the Indonesian government has commenced a nationwide vaccination program to contain infections, which surfaced on January 13, 2021.

On Thursday, President Joko Widodo observed a vaccination drive for the workers of public transportation and small and medium business sectors operating in the Kampung Rambutan Bus Terminal in East Jakarta.

As of Wednesday, some 18.7 million Indonesians had received their first shot, while the number of those having received the two-dose vaccine was recorded at 11.4 million.

In creating a herd community in Indonesia, the Indonesian Health Ministry had pegged the inoculation of some 181.5 million people to take around 15 months. (Antaranews)