Jakarta, The number of daily cases of acute respiratory infections linked to forest and land fires in Indonesia has fallen by nearly 87% since rainfall began easing the blazes, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Friday.

Daily cases have dropped to between 1,500 and 2,000 from a peak of around 15,000, with improvements reported across seven provinces affected by forest and land fires, stretching from Jambi to Central Kalimantan.

The decline has accelerated since rainfall began, Budi told reporters at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta.

“We look at the daily figures. At the peak, cases reached around 15,000 a day. Before the rain, they had fallen to around 3,000 a day,” he said.

“Now, based on the figures I have seen, because it has rained, they have dropped to around 1,500 to 2,000,” he added.

Budi said conditions had also improved at the district and municipal levels, with the number of areas classified in the most severe pollution category, or “black,” falling from around 50 to the low teens.

The classification refers to areas recording more than 300 cases per day, he said.

Of 81 affected districts and municipalities, around 50 had previously fallen into the 'black' category. When he visited the affected areas, the number had already declined to between 20 and 30 before falling further to the teens, he added.

The minister expressed hope that continued rainfall would further reduce respiratory infections and help extinguish fires, particularly those burning underground in peatlands.

“Hopefully, the rain will continue, because it can help put out the fires. These fires are in peatlands, so water needs to penetrate deep into the ground,” Budi said.

He urged the public to pray for continued rainfall to help bring the fires under control.

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