Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA) - Over 2,430 children tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Indonesian province of Bangka Belitung since the pandemic struck last year.
Children between one and 14 years of age contracted the infection from their parents and the surroundings, according to the Bangka Belitung Provincial Task Force for COVID-19 Handling.
"Nearly 2,430 of the 19,126 COVID-19 patients are children," spokesman for the task force Andi Budi Prayitno remarked here on Monday.
The spokesman noted that 68 of the 2,430 children were one year old, 498 were aged between one and four years, while 1,864 were four to 14 years in age. They reside in Pangkalpinang City, Bangka District, West Bangka District, South Bangka District, Central Bangka District, Belitung District, and East Belitung District.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients between 15 and 19 years of age reached 1,442, while 9,741 were aged between 20 and 44 years, 2,598 patients were in the age group of 45 and 54 years, 2,421 were between 55 and 69 years of age, and 493 were aged 70 years and above.
"Most COVID-19 patients were women, numbering 10,053, or 52.56 percent of the total cases of 19,126," he remarked.
Based on the latest data issued on Sunday, June 6, 2020, the number of patients, who have completed self-isolation increased by 189 to reach 17,289, while the number of COVID-19-related deaths rose by three to reach 189.
Prayitno noted that a total of 1,544 patients were undergoing treatment, a decline of 191, as compared to earlier, when an increase of 52 was recorded. Cumulatively, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by 52 to reach 19,126.
"We call on the public, particularly parents, to not bring their children under five to public places, as they are vulnerable to contracting this coronavirus," he emphasized.
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