Indonesia on Friday recorded 8,232 fresh coronavirus infections, 7,261 recoveries, and 268 deaths over a single day, the Task Force for COVID-19 Handling reported.
With this, the total tally of cases in the country rose to 1,322,855, while total recoveries reached 1,128,672, and the death toll climbed to 35,786. The first COVID-19 infections emerged in the country in March, 2020.
In the 24 hours ending at 12 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesian Time) on Friday, a total of 63,827 specimens from 39,766 people were tested in 670 laboratories across the country, bringing the cumulative number of examined specimens to 10,708,262 from 7,141,629 people.
West Java reported the highest number of new cases at 2,314, followed by Jakarta (1,661), Central Java (653), East Java (541), and East Kalimantan (485).
Meanwhile, Jakarta led in the number of new recoveries at 1,785, followed by Centra Java (1,119), West Java (868), East Java (535), and East Kalimantan (432).
All of the country’s 34 provinces reported new cases, with North Maluku recording the smallest number of new infections at six.
The task force also reported 75,822 people were suspected to have contracted the virus nationwide, while there were 1,322,866 confirmed positive cases under surveillance. The Indonesian government is seeking to expand the scope of its COVID-19 vaccination program to ensure ease of access to the vaccine, especially for senior citizens, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force spokesperson said.
“At the moment, vaccination spots for senior citizens are located in a number of major cities and districts. The government will continue to widen the scope in order to ensure that senior citizens can have access to vaccination in reachable areas,” Wiku Adisasmito said during a press conference originating from Jakarta on Thursday.
The Health Ministry and health facilities will continue to improve vaccination queue systems to ease access to the vaccine for the elderly and prevent crowding at vaccination spots, he elaborated.