"Last night, the Health Ministry found that a patient, with the initial N, was confirmed to have contracted the Omicron variant on December 15, 2021. We confirmed the data with Gsaid. This is the Omicron sequencing," Sadikin stated during a press conference on developments pertaining to COVID-19 on Thursday.
The minister later remarked that initially, three janitors at Wisma Atlet were confirmed positive for COVID-19 based on the results of their PCR test.
The three people reportedly had no symptoms, were physically healthy, and had no fever and cough. However, of the three samples examined by the Health Ministry's laboratory, one of the three samples was reported to be infected with Omicron, he added.
The Ministry of Health took a sample of N's genome sequencing on December 8 and sent it to Gsaid.
"On December 10, we received the results," Sadikin remarked.
Sadikin confirmed that N and the two colleagues had currently recovered and returned to their activities at Wisma Atlet.
"Three of them were again subject to PCR tests, and the results were negative," he noted.
Sadikin appealed to the public to not harbor concerns about Omicron's findings in Indonesia. In addition, he urged the public to obey health protocols, especially by wearing masks and maintaining distance.
"Do not travel abroad if you do not have important occasions," he emphasized.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan earlier stated that preliminary data from South Africa showed that the Omicron variant was indicated to spread faster than the previous type of mutation.
However, Omicron is indicated to have a low level of severity. The low level of severity is reflected in the number of hospitalized cases and the low death rate, he explained.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
