Of the 1,600 confirmed cases of Omicron, only 20 patients needed oxygen and two people died. This is still lower than during the Delta variant period. People do not need to panic but remain vigilant as always. Be alert and careful because the transmiJakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has prepared 80 thousand beds in different hospitals for COVID-19 patients, especially amid the spread of the Omicron variant, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has informed.
"Our hospital is ready for 80 thousand beds, while some 5,000 of them have been filled. There are still (unoccupied) rooms and it (bed capacity) is being increased to 150 thousand beds. We are also preparing oxygen, medicines, and health workers," Sadikin said after attending a limited meeting on the enforcement of community activity restrictions (PPKM) on Monday.
He informed that his ministry has stocked up 400 thousand (tablets) of Molnupiravir and another 400 thousand tablets will be imported and distributed to pharmacies soon. The ministry has also procured 20 million tablets of antiviral Avifavir, which has been shown effective against the virus, he added.
Regarding Omicron cases in Indonesia, Sadikin said that although the number of confirmed positive cases has increased, the death rate has been lower than that caused by the Delta variant.
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"Of the 1,600 confirmed cases of Omicron, only 20 patients needed oxygen and two people died. This is still lower than during the Delta variant period. People do not need to panic but remain vigilant as always. Be alert and careful because the transmission is high, there is no need to panic because the need for hospitalization and mortality is low," he added.
Sadikin also asked the public to consistently implement the health protocols by wearing masks, washing hands, and avoiding crowds.
"Since the number of Omicron cases are increasing, not every case will be tested with genome sequencing. We will be focusing on genome sequencing to analyze the pattern of Omicron transmission, and we will use PCR and SGTF PCR, which can detect Omicron. The kits have been distributed to regions," he informed.
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SGTF PCR is a COVID-19 detection method that uses an RT-PCR kit with special reagents to identify S gene target failure (SGTF) to detect the Omicron variant, he explained. The "S-gene" was not detected in the Thermofisher RT-PCR test due to gene mutation, while other target genes, such as the E, N, Rd, and Rp genes could be detected using the regular RT-PCR kits, he said.
"We hope that testing of one person per thousand of the population per week will be continued. We also aim to continue centralized isolation. Assistance from telemedicine has been carried out in Jakarta and the results are good," he said.
Furthermore, Sadikin said he has decided to continue centralized quarantine for foreign travelers (PPLN).
According to data from the Ministry of Health, as of January 23, 2022, Indonesia has recorded an additional 2,925 positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 4,286,378 since March 2020,
Meanwhile, the number of active COVID-19 cases has reached 18,891 and the number of deaths has increased by 14 to reach 144,220.
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Translator: Desca Lidya N, Resinta S
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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