Easing PSBB, Covid-19 Positivity Rate Continues to Rise

The SARS-CoV-2 virus was first detected in Indonesia in early March 2020. A month later, the central and regional governments decided to implement Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB). This policy successfully lowered the positivity rate, which initially stood at 13.1% in April, gradually decreasing to 10.8% by May.

However, the government decided to relax the PSBB to restart the economy. This resulted in a rise in the positivity rate to 11.79% in June 2020. This was directly correlated with the increasingly massive number of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests conducted, leading to a greater number of detected COVID-19 cases. Indonesia's positivity rate increasingly deviated from the World Health Organization (WHO) standard, which sets a safe limit of 5%.

The number of PCR tests conducted in Indonesia remains below the WHO standard. Testing should reach 267,000 people per week. However, testing only reached approximately 119,000 people in the last week (August 31 - September 6, 2020). Therefore, many COVID-19 cases remain undetected.