Task Force Wanti-wanti, Java Island COVID-19 Cases Contribute More Than Half Of National Cases

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, said that there was an increase in cases of 40,821 cases for one week, from May 24 to 30.

The five provinces with the highest addition of positive cases in the past week include West Java (7,246 cases), Central Java (5,568), DKI Jakarta (5,324), Riau (4,737) and Riau Islands (2008).

Unfortunately, said Wiku, the proportion of cases is not evenly distributed in all regions. Java Island has the largest contribution of cases compared to other islands.

In addition to the three provinces mentioned, the addition of cases in other provinces on the island of Java is also quite high. East Java province recorded an additional 1,637 cases, DI Yogyakarta 1,307 cases, and Banten 509 cases. A total of six provinces on the island of Java contributed to the addition of 53 percent of cases in Indonesia.

"This is a fairly high number, with only 6 provinces on the island of Java being able to contribute more than half of the total national cases," Wiku said on the Presidential Secretariat's Youtube video, Tuesday, June 1.

Wiku said that the reason Java contributed the most to the addition of cases after the Eid holiday was because it is the most densely populated island in Indonesia, which is around 145 million people or 55 percent of the total population.

In addition, the island of Java is also dominated by big cities in Indonesia and is supported by the fact that the capital city of Indonesia is on the island of Java, namely DKI Jakarta.

"In addition, considering that we have just passed the Eid al-Fitr period, we cannot ignore the fact that Java Island is a homecoming destination island. Central Java is the largest homecoming destination province, followed by West Java and East Java," said Wiku.

Therefore, Wiku appealed to local governments and communities in the provinces on the island of Java to immediately improve the handling in their respective regions.

"If the province on the island of Java improves its handling of cases and can drop in the next 1 to 2 weeks, it is not impossible that positive cases at the national level will also drop drastically," he concluded.