Indonesia Ready for COVID-19's Third Wave

TheIndonesia.id - The Indonesian Government had prepared for the third wave of COVID-19 infections even before the local transmission of Omicron and spike in cases was recorded, expert staff at the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) has said.

When the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Omicron as a variant of concern on November 26, 2021, the government swiftly tightened quarantine rules for foreign travelers, including extending the quarantine period to 14 days, Abraham Wirotomo informed.

"Due to the success of the quarantine, we can learn the characteristics of Omicron better from other countries so we got to know what to prepare," he said in a press release issued on Friday, February 4, 2022.

Indonesia is the 80th country to be affected by Omicron, he noted. "Many developed countries have experienced Omicron before Indonesia," he pointed out.

The threat of a third wave caused by the Omicron variant is real, he underlined. Therefore, the government has prepared various efforts to control any spike in cases, starting from preparing testing and tracing equipment, hospital beds, isolation areas, oxygen, medicines, telemedicine services, and vaccines, he said.

"As of last week, testing reached 351,442 per day, tracing was 10.87 close contact ratio, and bed availability was increased from 82,168 to 150 thousand beds. For centralized isolation, we have prepared 76,636 units," he informed.

Wirotomo further said that more than 318 million vaccines and nearly 80 million medicines have been prepared to face the Omicron wave.
"For medicines, we have readied around 25 million (units) of Favipiravir, almost one million injections of Remdesivir, 200 thousand capsules of Molnupiravir, and around 52 thousand multivitamins," he said.

Wirotomo also reminded the public to implement strict health protocols, reduce mobility, and get vaccinated. "The vaccine has been shown to reduce the severity of Omicron. Do not hesitate to get the vaccine," he remarked.

He also reminded the public to stay vigilant amid the third wave of COVID-19 and prioritize hospitals for those with severe or critical infections and for the elderly and patients with comorbidities.

"I remind you once again, the characteristics of Omicron are different from Delta. The transmission rate is higher, but the severity is lighter," he added.