VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia during the period from November to December 2020 rose drastically, including active cases that jumped by 55 percent in a single month, according to the Task Force for COVID-19 Response.

"Indeed, from March to December, if you look at the monthly graph, it has continued to increase," Dr Dewi Nur Aisyah, head of the Task Force's Data and Information Technology Division, stated during a discussion here on Wednesday.

The country also recorded a significant increase during August and September 2020, from an additional 66,360 cases in August 2020 to 112,255 cases in September 2020, up by 45,895 cases, or 69.2 percent, as a result of the long holidays.

A similar pattern occurred in November-December 2020. The number of additional cases touched 128,850 in November 2020 and swelled to 188,248 cases in December, an increase by 59,398 cases in a single month.

"We have not discussed the impact of the New Year's eve," she remarked.

Furthermore, an increase was recorded in the number of active cases or patients still undergoing treatment and independent isolation during recent weeks.

The number of active cases has increased significantly in the last six weeks, specifically a 55-percent spike in December as compared to November.

A total of 71,658 active cases were reported at the end of November, from 108,452 cases in the fourth week of December.

"If we compare cases during the last week of November with those in the corresponding period of December, a 55-percent increase in the number of active cases was recorded," he remarked.

A similar situation was observed with regard to the monthly national death toll wherein a significant increase was registered during the August-September and November-December 2020 period. During the August-September period, an increase of 46 percent was recorded, from 2,283 deaths in August to 3,334 deaths in September.

During the November-December 2020 period, the figure was up by 42.7 percent, from 3,081 deaths in November to 4,397 deaths in December 2020.

Aisyah cautioned that the continuous significant rise posed a grave risk owing to the limited capacity of healthcare workers, hospital beds, and ICU facilities.

As many as 21,944 people had died in Indonesia from the coronavirus in total as of Wednesday, out of some 735,124 cases. (Antaranews)