President Joko Widodo is lamenting how some regional leaders don’t know their respective regions’ COVID-19 data off the top of their heads, amid accusations that they may be tinkering with the data.
During an official virtual meeting with regional officials this morning, the president said he was surprised to find that some regional leaders drew blanks when he asked them about their real-time COVID-19 data, which he said is essential to determine government policy to tackle the outbreak.
“If they don’t know the numbers, how are they going to solve [the crisis]?” Jokowi said, without specifying the names of the officials.
Jokowi added that he reads the latest data on COVID-19 in Indonesia daily, even down to the city and regency level.
The president’s statement came after Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin on Tuesday derided unnamed regional officials he said have been suppressing their COVID-19 counts so their regions officially remain low-risk for COVID-19 transmission.
Areas deemed low-risk are not subject to partial lockdown measures, meaning economic activities may carry on as normal.
“They’ve been reducing testing, which could lead to an explosion in cases,” the minister said.
As of May 19, Indonesia has recorded 1,753,101 COVID-19 cases, 87,829 of which are active cases. The country has been recording around 4,000 new cases daily in recent weeks, but that may soon spike with the recent conclusion of the Eid holiday.
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