The COVID-19 positivity rate at sea and land travel entry points is ten folds higher than at the air travel entry points.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Two travellers quarantined at the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital (RSDC), Jakarta, were confirmed to have been infected by the Omicron variant, an official from the Indonesian Health Ministry stated.

"The two new Omicron variant cases were detected in travellers from London, England," the ministry’s spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, noted in a statement here on Wednesday.

The new findings increased the count of confirmed Omicron cases in Indonesia to reach five, she noted.

Tarmizi stated that the results of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) tests of the patients were received by the ministry on Monday.

"The patients were two out of the 11 people suspected to be infected with the Omicron variant according to the S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF) test results. The results came out on Sunday,” the spokesperson noted.

Tarmizi remarked that the patients were currently being isolated at the emergency hospital to curb the transmission of the new variant of the virus.

The government continues to tighten control at the entry points of the country, especially at the sea and land borders, she noted.

"The COVID-19 positivity rate at sea and land travel entry points is ten folds higher than at the air travel entry points," she pointed out.

Hence, Tarmizi urged the public to reduce mobility and stay disciplined in implementing health protocols.

“We have to increase our awareness and restrain our urge to travel. Thus, it will be better not to travel on the eve of 2021 Christmas and 2022 New Year,” she emphasized.

Earlier, the ministry had detected three confirmed Omicron variant cases, with the first one being a janitor at Wisma Atlet, announced on December 16, 2021.

Meanwhile, the two other cases announced on December 18, 2021, were of duo travellers from South America and England that had been placed under quarantine at the hospital.

Currently, the hospital has been locked down.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Uyu Liman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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