572 Omicron Cases Confirmed in Indonesia

TheIndonesia.id - The Ministry of Health has confirmed that there are currently 572 Omicron cases in Indonesia and said the majority of the cases show rather mild symptoms.

Spokesperson at the Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the total cases include the imported and local transmission cases, adding that almost half of all patients have completed their isolation period.

“Almost half of them, or 276 people, have completed isolation while the remaining 296 are still isolating,” Tarmizi said on Friday, January 14, as reported by Antara. “Form what we’ve monitored, the majority [of patients] show mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, so serious medical treatment hasn’t been required.”

Among the most common symptoms are cough, runny nose, and fever.

According to her, upon tested positive, patients must go through quarantine. And currently, 339 patients are quarantining in Emergency Hospital Wisma Atlet Kemayoran in Jakarta while the rest are being treated in a number of different hospitals appointed by the COVID-19 Task Force.

Tarmizi also said that the increasing number of Omicron infection contributes to surge in national daily cases. In fact, the number of Omicron cases has significantly exceeded Delta cases in Indonesia as of now.

As a response, authorities have started preparation to improve testing, tracing, and treatment, especially in regions with more case surge potential, such as Java and Bali islands.

For testing, Ministry of Health has distributed the -Gene Target Failure (SGTF) kit to testing and state-owned labs.

The Ministry will also increase tracing ratio in regions with more than 30 confirmed patients, in order to prevent wider spread and infection. Tracing will also involve the Indonesian military, police, and general public.

Lastly, to ensure proper treatment, Ministry of Health also guarantees the availability of centered and independent isolation locations for asymptomatic cases or patients that experience mild symptoms. Meanwhile, the government has also prepared hospitals with accommodating bed capacity to treat those with more severe symptoms.