Indonesia logged 37,259 additional COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with West Java accounting for the highest increase in cases, the Ministry of Health reported.
On Thursday, the number of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 increased by 42,154. Meanwhile, the number of deaths reached 232, which was lower than the 376 deaths recorded nationwide the previous day.
West Java added 7,645 COVID-19-positive cases, 10,667 recoveries, 24 deaths on Thursday, followed by Jakarta, which reported 4,669 new cases, 7,882 recoveries, and 20 deaths.
East Java was next with 4,135 additional cases, 5,469 recoveries, and 44 deaths, while Central Java recorded 3,244 new cases, 1,203 recoveries, and 45 fatalities.
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020.
According to official data, as of March 3, 2022, Indonesia has recorded a total of 5,667,355 COVID-19 cases, 4,986,391 recoveries, and 149,268 deaths.
Meanwhile, the number of active cases fell by 5,127 on Thursday, bringing the total number of active cases to 531,696. Further, as many as 23,198 suspected cases were identified, while the number of tested specimens reached 387,296.
As of February, the Health Ministry said it has detected around 252 cases of the Omicron subvariant, BA.2, based on observations of cases.
“Regarding the BA.2 variant, we actually have detected this variant. If we look at the number of cases of the BA.2 variant that have now been detected, there are around 252 cases,” Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health Siti Nadia Tarmizi said.
According to her, the BA.2 variant is more transmissible and increases the severity of infection in patients. The BA.2 subvariant of Omicron has not dominated cases in Indonesia since the BA.1 variant is currently still more prevalent, she added.
As part of efforts to prevent virus transmission, the government has continued to urge people to comply with the health protocols, namely wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining social distance, reducing mobility, and avoiding crowds.
Source: Antara News