KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 – Indonesia’s death toll related to Covid-19 mostly comprises adults 30 to 59 years of age, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
A total of 351 of the 773 deceased were aged from 30 to 59 years old. Two were aged below four years, three were aged 5 to 14, and five were under the age of 15. Another 19 victims were aged 15 to 29 years old; 302 people were 60 to 79 years old; and 27 people were aged 80 or more.
“The ages of the other 69 cases are still being verified,” said the ministry’s disease control and prevention director general, Achmad Yurianto, according to The Jakarta Post.
Indonesia’s Covid-19 mortality rate is now the highest in Asia.
It is said to be contributed by the country’s underdeveloped public health management and “regional disparities within its health system”.
Indonesia’s Covid-19 mortality rate as per case fatality (number of deaths per 100 confirmed cases) is at 8.4 per cent, whereas other countries in the region have recorded lower.
The Philippines recorded 6.5 per cent, China 5.6 per cent, India 3.8 per cent, Japan 2.8 per cent, South Korea 2.3 per cent, Malaysia 1.7 per cent, and Singapore at 0.1 per cent.
“Due to the absence of widespread testing and as a matter of precaution, Indonesia has also put 19,648 patients under strict observation for suspected coronavirus infection,” said the Jakarta Globe.
At the beginning of last month, the country only had one laboratory capable of conducting Covid-19 testing, which meant that it took days to produce results.
Hospitals began to be quickly crowded with patients; and frontline health care workers were allegedly not provided with adequate personal protection equipment.
The Jakarta Post quoted Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan as saying that 1,666 people have been buried in the capital according to Covid-19 protocol, including suspected patients who died before they were tested for the disease or before their test results returned.
As at today, Indonesia has recorded a total of 9,511 positive Covid-19 cases.
