Indonesia Nears Half a Million Coronavirus Cases as Jakarta Sets another Record

Jakarta. The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Indonesia is getting closer to the 500,000 mark amid widespread infections in key hotspots, most notably Jakarta which set a new high in daily cases on Saturday.

The country has recorded 4,998 new cases in the last 24 hours, the third-highest daily raise since the outbreak began, to take its total to 493,308.

The death toll increased by 96 for a total of 15,774. The virus has killed more than 1,900 people in Indonesia since the beginning of the month.

The dramatic surge in coronavirus cases in the past week has been driving up the total number of active cases to more than 63,500 as of Saturday, an increase of more than 8,000 on the figure last week. 

Two days ago, the curve of seven-day average also crossed the first peak recorded on Sept. 26. 

Record in Jakarta
Jakarta, home to 25.5 percent of nationwide cases, set a new one-day high of 1,579 cases amid a lack of firm measures to enforce social distancing rules.

The previous high was 1,398 cases recorded on Oct. 4.

The capital city has recorded a total of 125,822 cases since the outbreak. It has more cases than those combined from the remaining 24 provinces outside the top ten of worst-affected provinces. 

Its seven-day average is climbing steadily, approaching the Oct. 5 peak of 1,219 cases.

Jakarta has the second-highest casualty toll with a total of 2,509 coronavirus-related deaths.

East Java is at a distant second with a total of 58,384 cases, including 4,125 deaths.

It has been outpaced by West and Central Java, which are ranked third and fourth, respectively, among provinces with the most coronavirus cases.

Central Java has added nearly 13,000 cases since Nov. 1, more than twice as many as the number registered by East Java in the same period. 

Central Java averages 619 cases this month, second only to Jakarta. 

It has recorded 46,903 cases and 2,110 deaths, the third-highest death toll after that of East Java and Jakarta.

West Java also saw an uptick in newly cases, averaging 541 this month to take its total to 47,692.

Resurgence Outside Java
Three other hotspots -- Riau, West Sumatra and East Kalimantan -- have seen resurgence in newly cases in the past week after an initial success in containing transmissions early this month.

After reporting a record 688 cases two days ago, Riau now has its seven-day average hitting the highest point. It added 308 more cases on Saturday for a total of 18,471. 

Newly cases have been climbing in neighboring West Sumatra in the past week after a steady decline. It has recorded a total of 18,364 cases.

East Kalimantan has added more than 4,000 cases month to date, more than the number accumulated by Riau and West Sumatra in the same period. The province has a total of 18,144 cases as of Saturday.

The three have outpaced South Sulawesi, which remains in the fifth place among worst-affected provinces. Hit badly by the virus early on, South Sulawesi has recorded a total of 19,799 cases, but its daily average has been below 100 for two months now.