The government's strategy to handle Omicron is a little different from Delta.Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government applies a different handling strategy to control the Omicron wave that is estimated to occur in February 2022, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated.
"The government's strategy to handle Omicron is a little different from that for Delta. Omicron has a low severity. Some people are asymptomatic while others experience mild symptoms, such as fever and cough," he noted.
"They can actually recover without being treated at a hospital," he noted at a press conference on Zoom on Thursday.
Omicron typically spreads fast and with broad expansion, the minister explained.
"Within a short period of time, there will be a high surge in the number of cases," he elaborated.
The second characteristic of Omicron is its low severity and hospital bed occupancy rate, as there were more patients, who contracted Omicron that were treated at home.
Meanwhile, the recovery process is assisted by a medical team through a digital health service.
In addition, Delta is causal to high severity of symptoms that necessitates hospital treatment, he remarked.
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As of Wednesday, the number of Omicron patients treated at hospitals across Indonesia reached 7,688 out of the total available isolation beds that reached 80 thousand, Sadikin remarked.
"This is below the isolation bed capacity that could still be increased. In July 2021, when the number of Delta cases was high, we could raise it to 120-130 thousand units," he highlighted.
"What we prepare now numbered at 80 thousand, with 7,688 occupied," he stated.
The Omicron wave is estimated to peak at the end of February or the start of March in 2022, the minister noted.
Meanwhile, around three patients among these 7,688 people were reported to have succumbed to the disease.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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