Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Health Ministry has detected five likely cases of the new COVID-19 variant called Omicron in the country involving international travelers, Indonesian citizens, and foreigners.
"We were not sure if it was Omicron or not, but because we conducted a PCR test with special specifications using the S-gene target failure, we detected five probable cases of Omicron," Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated during a press conference held to discuss developments related to COVID-19 here, Thursday.
Out of the five suspects, two are Indonesian citizens that recently returned from the United States and the United Kingdom. Both are currently undergoing isolation at Wisma Atlet.
Three other probable cases are foreigners from China that had visited Manado and are currently being quarantined in Manado.
"These five people are still likely cases because they have just been subject to PCR test with special markers. Positive PCR samples from these five probable cases have been sent to the Health Research and Development Agency (Balitbangkes), and genome sequencing tests are currently being rolling out," Sadikin added.
The results of genomic sequencing of the five suspects will be reported within the next three days to confirm whether they are positive for Omicron infection, he explained.
The minister appealed to the public to not harbor concerns and continue to go about their daily activities as usual. He reminded the public to always maintain vigil by complying with health protocols.
"Especially wearing masks and keeping a safe distance," he emphasized.
In addition, Sadikin urged the public to avoid non-essential overseas travel since the number of Omicron cases in several countries was increasing rapidly.
"In the UK, where the count was originally only 10 cases per day, the figure increased by 100 per day, and now, it is 70 thousand per day, higher than the peak of cases in Indonesia in July," he remarked.
The Indonesian Government had earlier prohibited the entry of foreign nationals, who have traveled to countries where the Omicron variant was detected in the 14 days leading to their travel to Indonesia.
The countries include South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong (China), and countries that are geographically close to the countries with recorded Omicron transmission: Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, and Lesotho. (*)
