Indonesia's Health Ministry Urges Mask Use as Influenza-Like Illnesses Spread Nationwide

[Commonground]

October 18, 2025
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus has urged the public to wear masks to curb the spread of Influenza-Like Illnesses (ILI), as cases of flu-like infections have risen in several regions in recent weeks.​
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“During this seasonal shift, from September to October, flu cases usually rise,” he said at the Health Ministry office in Jakarta on Friday, October 17, 2025.​
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Meanwhile, Aji Muhawarman, Head of the Health Ministry’s Communication and Public Information Bureau, said the current increase follows a regional trend seen in neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

“Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand have also reported rising cases, mostly dominated by influenza type A viruses,” Aji said via WhatsApp on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
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...https://en.tempo.co/read/2058336/in...as-influenza-like-illnesses-spread-nationwide

 

[Commonground]

October 27, 2025
Indonesia's Health Ministry Reports Seasonal Influenza Rise, Mostly H1N1 Cases

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Excerpt:

“Yes, flu cases have indeed risen during these months,” Budi said at the Health Ministry office in South Jakarta on Monday, October 27, 2025. “But the total number of patients this year remains lower than last year. You can check the data yourselves on surkakes.kemkes.go.id. It’s updated weekly.”​

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Budi said Indonesia’s disease surveillance system has improved significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic, with reporting now “as transparent and reliable as in developed countries.”

“The quality of our reports used to be poor. Now, it’s comparable to the standards in the UK or South Africa,” he said, pointing to the ministry’s updated flu data dashboard.

Genomic sequencing, he explained, shows that most recent flu cases were caused by the H1N1 strain, followed by H3


The public, he added, can freely access weekly infectious disease reports, including influenza trends, on the Health Ministry’s official website.

“It’s open access, the data are good, and the graphs are clear,” he said.

The ministry’s influenza surveillance report now features a visual dashboard showing weekly trends and regional case distribution.

The upgrade is part of the post-pandemic Surveillance and Early Warning System
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​https://en.tempo.co/read/2060765/in...rts-seasonal-influenza-rise-mostly-h1n1-cases