33 Regions at Low Risk of Infection, COVID-19 Working Committee Spokeperson Says

Spokespersons of COVID-19 Working Committee dr. Reisa and Prof. Wiku give a press statement at the President’s Office, Jakarta. (Photo: Cabinet Secretariat Doc.)

The number of high-risk areas decreased from 44 to 33 cities or regencies, spokesperson of COVID-19 Working Committee Wiku Adisasmito has said.

“Based on the epidemic risk mapping, as many as 44 high-risk zones decreased to 33 cities or regencies, medium-risk zones increased from 160 to 194, and low-risk zones decreased from 178 to 163,” Wiku said at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (6/8).

According to him, the number of COVID-19 cases has reached 118,753 cases with a rise of 1,882 confirmed cases.

“There were 1,756 patients recovered, bringing the total number to 75,645 recoveries, 5,521 fatalities, and 91,219 suspected cases,” he said.

To date, he added, the number of COVID-19 patients recovering from the disease has increased by 1,756 in the last 40 hours for a total of 75,645, or 63.7 percent of the total cases, while the proportion of deaths to confirmed cases stood at 4.6 percent.

In the meantime, the Spokesperson of COVID-19 Working Committee also said that 8 cities or regencies are still categorized as red-zone areas in the last four weeks. For instance, West Jakarta and Central Jakarta, as well as Banjar, Banjarbaru City, and Tabalong in South Kalimantan.

In Central Java, he continued, Semarang was categorized as red-zone area, while two other red-zone areas in North Sumatra were Medan and Deli Serdang. “We urged the regents and mayors to pay attention to COVID-19 handling in respective regions, report any obstacles to COVID-19 Working Committee,” he said.

On that occasion, Wiku also urged the people in the eight regions to implement health protocols and maintain a safe distance as preventive measures to curb the spread.

Wiku further said that 13 cities or regencies have changed their risk status from orange zones (medium-risk) to red zones (high-risk areas), including Karang Asem in Bali Province and North Gorontalo and Pahuwato in Gorontalo Province.

There were also Depok City in West Java Province, Hulu Sungai Tengah in South Kalimantan, Ambon in Maluku Province, Mimika in Papua Province, Gowa in South Sulawesi, as well as Minahasa and South Minahasa in North Sulawesi.

Prabumulih in South Sumatra and Binjai in North Sumatra are also classified as red-zone areas. “We call on regional governments to handle COVID-19 so the risk status of respective areas can improve,” Wiku added.

According to him, there was an increasing number of confirmed cases in Aceh Province. Based on the data, it is increasing from 21 to 259 positive cases only in the period of 26 July to 2 August 2020.

“There were 3 zero-case cities or regencies that hit medium-risk status and 1 city or regency which previously had no confirmed cases became a medium-risk area,” he said.

Therefore, he urged regional governments to coordinate with COVID-19 Working Committee. Wiku said that it aimed to speed up the Government’s measures and increase green-zone areas in the country. (Tim Komunikasi Komite Penanganan Covid-19 dan PEN)

Translated by: Syarifah Aisyah
Reviewed by: Yuyu Mulyani