Indonesia records daily high of 4,465 new cases
Indonesia saw a one-day record of 4,465 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 257,388 nationwide, government data shows.
More than 4,000 new COVID-19 cases have been reported per day since Monday. At least 9,977 people have succumbed to the disease so far, and 187,958 have recovered.
Jakarta had the largest share of Wednesday’s figure with 1,133 new cases, despite having reimposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) a week earlier, bringing the capital’s total to 65,687 recorded cases and 1,628 fatalities. Read also: COVID-19: Indonesia logs record single-day infection spike of 4,176
A recent survey by the Health Ministry has found that many citizens do not believe that COVID-19 exists and that many have challenged the call to adhere to health protocols, authorities have said, leading to more widespread transmission of the virus.
In response, the national COVID-19 task force has formed so-called “behavioral change” units to raise public awareness about the danger of the disease. The initiative will be tested first in Jakarta, a hotbed of COVID-19 contagion, before being brought to other regions.
Five behavioral change units consisting of a total of 100 volunteers have been deployed in five subdistricts of the capital to inform people about the virus and reinforce the need to adhere to health protocols, national COVID-19 task force head Doni Monardo said on Tuesday.