Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Health Ministry announced that the number of confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in Indonesia increased by 92 as of January 4, chiefly comprising Indonesian citizens, who recently returned from foreign countries.
"Foreign travelers still constitute a major chunk of cases of Omicron transmission. From the monitoring results, most of them have mild symptoms and are asymptomatic. The most common symptoms are cough, for which the number of cases increased by 49 percent, and cold wherein the number of cases rose by 27 percent," spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination from the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi noted in a press statement received here, Wednesday.
Tarmizi stated that the number of new confirmed cases in Indonesia reached 92, thereby bringing the total count of Omicron cases to 254, comprising 239 imported cases and 15 cases from local transmission.
The spokesperson also noted that the Omicron variant had a much swifter transmission rate than the Delta variant. Since first being discovered on November 24, 2021, in South Africa, Omicron has now been detected in more than 110 countries and is expected to continue to spread its tentacles even further.
However, Omicron is indicated to have a low level of severity as is reflected in the number of hospitalized cases and the low death rate.
At the national level, the Omicron variant's spread has also continued to increase since it was first confirmed on December 16, 2021.
The first case of the Omicron variant in Indonesia was found in a janitor at the COVID-19 Emergency Hospital (RSDC) Wisma Atlet Kemayoran.
Furthermore, Tarmizi reminded all regions to strengthen 3T (testing, tracing, treatment) activities, actively monitor new clusters of COVID-19, and immediately report and coordinate with the COVID-19 task force or regional government if new confirmed cases were found in their area.
In addition to readiness in terms of health facilities and infrastructure, Tarmizi urged the public to increase vigilance to lower the likelihood of Omicron transmission. The 5M health protocols and vaccination must go hand in hand as the keys to protecting the community from Omicron transmission.
