Of the 152 cases that entered Indonesia, more than half were asymptomatic, half were mildly illJakarta (ANTARA) - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin reported that 34 people, or 23 percent of the 152 Omicron patients in Indonesia, had recovered after undergoing treatment and isolation.
"Of the 152 cases that entered Indonesia, more than half were asymptomatic, half were mildly ill," he delivered the statement, as quoted from the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel on Monday.
Sadikin explained that mild illness meant that the patient did not need oxygen support, and the saturation level was still above 95 percent.
The minister noted that the 34 Omicron patients, or 23 percent of the infected people in the country, had recovered and returned home.
He stated that not a single patient required major treatment at the hospital ever since the first Omicron case was discovered in mid-December of 2021.
"It is enough that they are given medicine and vitamins and they can return home," he noted.
He remarked that Omicron did not cause severe symptoms although the variant was able to bypass antibodies in the human body.
"The good news is for the clinical case of Omicron, although antibody protection from the vaccine can be bypassed, the protection from T cells can still guard pretty well. That explains why the number of patients undergoing hospitalization is lower," he explained.
The Omicron variant had entered Indonesia a while ago. It was first detected in a staff at the Kemayoran Athlete Village's Hospital, with other probable cases reported from some citizens, who recently arrived from overseas travel and foreign nationals, who visited Indonesia.
Despite data from other countries showing that Omicron did not cause as many deaths as its Delta counterpart, the government is still amping up preventive measures, such as imposing stricter security at national borders, calling for more testing and tracing, and expediting vaccination to meet the national target.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan had implored people to vacation at domestic tourist attractions in order to thwart the surfacing of new Omicron cases as well as to enjoy the local scenery that was no less beautiful than those of foreign tourist attractions.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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