Jakarta governor tests positive for COVID-19 as Indonesia cases rise

Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The governor of Indonesia's biggest city has tested positive for COVID-19.

Anies Baswedan, 51, said in statement on Tuesday his test results for the novel coronavirus came back positive but he is asymptomatic, the Jakarta Post and Al Jazeera reported Tuesday.

Anies said he would not stop working while in isolation, and that he and other officials have become accustomed to working virtually since March, according to reports.

In an Instagram post, the Indonesia governor also said he wants to remind the public that anyone is susceptible to the highly infectious disease.

"The Jakarta Health Agency's [contact] tracing team will also be recording, taking notes and reaching out to all [my] close contacts and all related procedures will go ahead," Anies said.

The governor confirmed his results after his deputy governor Ahmad Riza Patria tested positive for the virus on Sunday, according to the city of Jakarta. Anies' deputy had said an employee might have infected him.

Indonesia overtook the Philippines in the number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia in October, and has reported an average of about 1,240 cases in the past week.

The return of Rizieq Shihab, founder of the Islamic Defenders Front, may have also led to the rising number of infections. The cleric's return from self-exile in Saudi Arabia included a welcome event that drew thousands of people to Jakarta on Nov. 14. Anies had visited the group on Nov. 10 hours after the cleric's return, according to Singapore's Straits Times.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Monday COVID-19 cases need monitoring.

"There are two provinces which need special attention because of the spike [recently], in the past two to three days there have been very drastic increases [in new cases] in Central Java and Jakarta," the president said, according to the Post.

The city of Jakarta lost one of its senior officials to the coronavirus in September.