Almost half of them or around 276 people have finished isolation, while the remaining 296 people are still in isolation
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The number of Omicron infections involving foreign travelers and local transmission has increased to 572 as of January 12, 2022, the Indonesian Health Ministry has reported.

"Almost half of them or around 276 people have finished isolation, while the remaining 296 people are still in isolation. From the results of field monitoring, the majority of symptoms are mild and asymptomatic. The patients do not need serious treatment," Director of Prevention and Control of Vector and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, informed here on Friday.

Based on data from the official website of the Health Ministry, the number of Omicron cases increased by 66 to reach 572 on Friday. Of the new cases, 33 were detected in international travelers and 33 involved local transmission, Tarmizi said.

As a follow-up treatment, all patients are required to be quarantined, she informed.

Currently, as many as 339 patients are undergoing quarantine at the Emergency COVID-19 Hospital (RSDC) in Wisma Atlet Kemayoran, while the remaining 233 are undergoing quarantine in hospitals appointed by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, she added.

Tarmizi said, there has been no difference in symptoms between patients infected while traveling abroad and patients contracting Omicron locally. Most have reported mild symptoms or have been asymptomatic. The most common symptoms experienced by patients are cough, runny nose, and fever.

The recent addition of Omicron cases has implications for a spike in national daily cases. In fact, the proportion of the Omicron cases is much higher than Delta cases, she added.

"From the monitoring by the Ministry of Health, probable cases of Omicron have started to increase since early 2022. Most of them are from international travelers. This has an impact on the increase in daily cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia," she explained.

Facing a surge in COVID-19 cases, the ministry will increase the implementation of the 3Ts, namely testing, tracing, and treatment, especially in areas that have the potential for high transmission, she informed.

"We have taken steps to anticipate the spread of Omicron by intensifying the 3Ts, especially in Java and Bali," she said.

For testing, the Health Ministry has distributed S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF) kits to all supervisory laboratories as well as government-owned laboratories and ensured sufficient kit stocks. The capacity of PCR and SGTF examinations is also sought to be accelerated in an effort to track cases as early as possible, she said.

Regarding tracing, the Ministry of Health will increase the ratio of tracing in areas where the number of positive cases is more than 30 people to prevent a wider spread, Tarmizi informed. The tracing process will involve the National Police (Polri), Defense Forces (TNI), and the community.

For treatment, the Ministry of Health is guaranteeing the availability of centralized isolation and independent isolation for patients with mild symptoms and asymptomatic patients, while for patients with moderate and severe symptoms, the government has prepared hospitals with adequate bed capacity, she added.

"Thus, confirmed patients can undergo isolation to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19," Tarmizi noted.

Considering that the Omicron variant spreads faster than the Delta variant, Tarmizi appealed to the public to always be vigilant, implement the health protocols, and get vaccinated.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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