It is seen in the CT value which made us and the Papua Health Office suspicious there is a new variant here because of the lowest CT (recorded).Jakarta (ANTARA) - It is yet to be confirmed whether five Jakarta athletes who have contracted COVID-19 while participating in Papua's PON National Games XX have been infected with a new variant, an official has said.
The new variant can be detected only after the genome sequence has been examined, and the tool to conduct it is only available with the central government, head of disease control prevention at the Jakarta Health Office, Dwi Oktavia, informed here on Tuesday.
"So currently, the sample is sent for genome sequence examination to find out the variant," she said.
However, no matter which variant of COVID-19 infected the Jakarta athletes, the treatment would remain the same, which is isolation and intensive care, she added.
"The principle of treatment for patients is the same. It meets the standards and follows their medical conditions," she explained.
Recently, five Jakarta athletes who competed in Papua PON XX were declared to have been exposed to COVID-19.
Three judo and basketball athletes tested positive in Timika district, while two softball and rollerskating athletes were found positive while competing in Jayapura.
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Coordinating doctor for the Jakarta contingent, Junaidi, earlier informed that the athletes in Jayapura were undergoing isolation in a private hospital and the athletes in Timika were undergoing isolation at Timika Regional Hospital.
In the Jakarta athletes who were exposed to COVID-19, cycle threshold values (CT Values) were recorded low, he noted. Hence, he said he was worried that they had been exposed to a new variant, he said.
"It is seen in the CT value which made us and the Papua Health Office suspicious there is a new variant here because of the lowest CT (recorded)," he said.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officially opened the PON on October 2, 2021, which is being held in Papua for the first time.
A total of 6,442 athletes are competing in 56 sports at Indonesia's most prestigious sporting event. The games will close on October 15.
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Translator: Ricky P, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
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