Update On COVID-19 As Of May 18: Positive Cases 13 Percent Of All People Screened

Government spokesman for the handling of COVID-19, Achmad Yurianto (Photo: Doc. Task Force)

JAKARTA - Government spokesman for the handling of COVID-19, Achmad Yurianto, explained the progress of the case as of Monday, May 18 at 12.00 WIB. There were an additional 496 positive cases today. The total number of positive cases became 18,010 people.

This positive confirmation result was obtained from the saliva specimen test (swab) using a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine and 190,660 rapid molecular tests (TCM). The number of cases examined was 143,035 people.

In general, there are 13 percent of all people who underwent testing, both RT-PCR and TCM.

Then, the number of cured cases surpassed the death cases. There were an additional 195 patients recovered, bringing the total to 4,324 patients. Meanwhile, 43 people died, bringing it to 1,191 patients.

In this case, there are comorbidities that worsen the patient's condition, namely comorbid hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and lung disease.

"389 districts or cities in 34 provinces have been affected by COVID-19," Yuri said at a press conference at Graha BNPB, East Jakarta, Monday, May 18.

The province with the highest number of cases is in DKI Jakarta with 6,059 cases per day. Followed by East Java with 2,296 cases, West Java with 1,677 cases, Central Java with 1,165 cases, and South Sulawesi with 1,017 positive cases.

Then, there are 10 provinces that report no new positive cases per day. The provinces are Aceh, Bangka Belitung, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, West Papua, Papua and West Sulawesi.

As of today, there are 45,047 people under monitoring (ODP) who are still being monitored. Then, there are 11,445 patients under surveillance (PDP) who are still being monitored until now.

"We update the ODP case data, we only report ODP cases throughout Indonesia which we are monitoring today. Meanwhile, 11,445 PDPs are still under surveillance," said Yuri.

Yuri said that people must be able to get used to adapting to a new lifestyle, which is currently being done during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new lifestyle requires people to undergo activities but accompanied by a protocol for preventing COVID-19 until an undetermined time.