Indonesia's COVID-19 cases surpass 500,000-mark, deaths over 16,000

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has surpassed the 500,000-mark in Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation, showed the latest data from the Health Ministry on Monday.

The ministry reported 4,442 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the national tally to 502,110 with 16,002 deaths including 118 newly reported ones from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, 4,198 more patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 422,386.

The coronavirus has spread to all the Southeast Asian country's 34 provinces. Indonesia reported its first two confirmed infections on March 2.

Jakarta, the national capital, is the worst hit with a total tally of 128,173 cases with 2,542 deaths, followed by East Java with 59,044 cases and 4,184 deaths, and West Java with 48,666 cases and 868 deaths.

In late September, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that the Indonesian government has planned to carry out a mass vaccination program late this year or early next year.

He voiced his optimism about between 170 million and 180 million doses of vaccine being available by the end of the year to enable a mass vaccination to start.