IDNEWSNOW.COM, Jakarta – The Indonesian Health Ministry announced 66 additional people infected with the Omicron variant as of Wednesday, Jan. 12, totaling the number to 572 people. The new confirmed cases were found in 33 international travelers and 33 local transmissions.
The ministry’s spokesman for national Covid-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, explained that the symptoms shown by both international travelers and the cases of local transmission were no different. Most of them coughed flu and fever. “So, no need serious treatment yet,” she said in a written statement Friday, January 14.
Of the total 572 Omicron patients, 276 have completed their isolation period.
The recent Omicron cases, she went on, have risen the national daily caseload, even surpassing the Delta variant case surge.
In an effort to contain the case surge, the Health Ministry will intensify testing, tracing, and treatment in regions with the potential of high transmissions, such as in Java and Bali.
The ministry has distributed the SGTF kit to all the labs to increase the testing. The capacity of PCR and SGTF tests is also being accelerated, so the cases could be found early.
As for the tracing, the government will increase the ratio in regions with more than 30 positive cases. The military (TNI), the police, and the general public will be involved.
The health ministry also assures the availability of isolation centers for those with mild symptoms or asymptomatic and hospitals with sufficient bed capacity for those with medium and severe symptoms.
Due to the rapid spreading of Omicron – faster than the Delta variant does, Nadia calls on the public to remain vigilant by implementing the health protocols and immediately getting the Covid shots.
Read: Yogyakarta Intensifies Booster Rollout to Combat Omicron
Friski Riana
