One thing for sure is that the patient did not go anywhere. He just stayed at his apartment unitJakarta (ANTARA) - The Jakarta administration has intensively coordinated and worked with the Indonesian Health Ministry's task force to halt the potential outbreak of Omicron infection among local residents.
In conversation with journalists after meeting with all heads of sub-districts across Jakarta on Tuesday, Governor Anies Baswedan remarked that the provincial administration and task force had intensified their prevention efforts.
"We have often worked swiftly with the Health Ministry's task force. As a result, surveillance of the contagious disease can be intensified. Once a case of the Omicron variant is detected, it will soon be reported," he remarked.
In preventing the potential spread of this new variant of coronavirus in Jakarta, health care workers continue to conduct contact-tracing and undertake containment efforts by engaging various parties in communities, he affirmed.
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The engagement of related parties, such as sub-districts, neighborhoods, and apartment operators, is aimed at enhancing the surveillance of Omicron that reportedly spreads more quickly than the other variants, he stated.
An apartment dweller in North Jakarta was reported to have likely exhibited the symptoms of the Omicron variant, though he refused to get admitted to hospital.
According to a report he received, the apartment dweller had been evacuated to the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Governor Anies Baswedan added.
Meanwhile, Head of the North Jakarta Health Office Yudi Dimyati said he could not as yet confirm whether the apartment dweller had been infected by the Omicron coronavirus variant.
"One thing for sure is that the patient did not go anywhere. He just stayed at his apartment unit," Dimyati noted.
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ANTARA had reported earlier that Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced Indonesia's first Omicron case on December 16, 2021.
The first person to be infected with the new variant was a janitor working at the Wisma Atlet Kemayoran emergency hospital for COVID-19, he stated.
The case was detected after three workers at the hospital tested positive for COVID-19, he noted.
In response to the detection of the first Omicron case, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on people to stay calm.
"It is important to be vigilant, but do not panic," he emphasized while adding that so far, the Omicron variant had not caused severe symptoms, especially in patients, who have been vaccinated.
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He also urged Indonesians to get vaccinated without further ado to protect themselves and to continue to implement strict health protocols.
To stem the spread of this new variant of COVID-19, a senior legislator has urged the Indonesian government to increase surveillance at international travel entry points at airports across the country.
"Omicron cases have been found in Indonesia. Hence, we need to remain on alert at our travel entry points, especially our international airports," Saleh Partaonan Daulay noted recently.
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Translator: A.Faisal, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
