"Since Omicron was detected on December 15, 2021, and up until January 17, 2022, some 840 positive cases of Omicron were reported," Director of Prevention and Control of Vector and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi remarked here on Tuesday.
Out of the figure, 609 were those with a history of international travel and 174 people with local transmission.
Meanwhile, 57 other cases of the spread of Omicron were reported whose source of transmission is yet being investigated.
Tarmizi detailed that most cases of Omicron were reported in travelers from Saudi Arabia, reaching 112 cases; followed by 106 cases of travelers from Turkey; the United States, 62 cases; Malaysia, 49 cases; and the United Arab Emirates, 45 cases.
According to Tarmizi, out of the 840 people infected with Omicron, nearly 79.1 percent had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine; 4.2 percent had been administered the first dose of vaccination, seven percent had not received the vaccination, and 9.7 percent had no known vaccination status.
"Of course, it is our vigilance that even people, who have been vaccinated, can still be infected with Omicron, especially those, who have not been vaccinated. We see people, who have been vaccinated with Omicron, exhibit milder symptoms," Tarmizi remarked.
She also pointed to an increase in cases of COVID-19 transmission in early 2022, though the surge was not significant.
"The peak of cases occurred on January 19, 2021, due to increased mobility at the end of the year. Currently, we are also seeing an increase in mobility at the end of 2021, even until this weekend, but there has not been a significant increase. However, we stay alert, and we must continue to implement health protocols while accelerating vaccinations," she remarked.
The Indonesian Government had earlier reminded people to remain alert to a likely surge in COVID-19 cases by not traveling abroad, being prudent in traveling, and avoiding crowds.
The increase in daily cases has shown that transmission still occurs, for which anticipatory measures are deemed necessary.
The number of daily confirmed cases is relatively increasing. This is a reminder for us that COVID-19 is still there, and that transmission still occurs among us, Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate stated in a press release on Monday.
Plate assessed that although the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia is under control and the vaccination coverage continued to improve, the development of COVID-19 in the country is still very dynamic, so everyone needs to be careful.
This especially holds true for the spread of the Omicron variant, both caused by imported cases or local transmission, as is reflected by the increasing trend in daily cases of COVID-19.
In comparison with early January of 2022, when the number of daily cases was still below 500, on January 16, 2022, as many as 855 cases were confirmed in a day. Meanwhile, the day before, January 15, 2022, the figure had reached 1,065 cases.
Plate urged people to remain vigilant over the risk of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The increase in peoples activities and mobility cannot be denied to trigger the likelihood of virus transmission. We all know this," he affirmed.
To this end, he advised people to avoid non-essential travel abroad. (*)
