Out of the 69 active cases in Riau Islands, 39 of them are infected with OmicronTanjungpinang, Riau Islands (ANTARA) - The number of residents contracting the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Riau Islands has continued to increase in the past week, the provincial COVID-19 Handling Task Force has informed.
The number of Omicron patients in the province has increased by 3 in the past week, taking the total number of infected residents to 39, spokesperson for the Riau Islands COVID-19 Handling Task Force Tjetjep Yudiana said here on Tuesday.
Of the 39 patients, 37 reside in Batam, one in Karimun, and one in Bintan, he disclosed.
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Yudiana, who also serves as the head of the Riau Islands Health Office, informed that some Indonesian migrant workers repatriated from Malaysia via Batam have also been detected with Omicron.
Currently, the number of migrant workers who have tested positive for Omicron has increased by 8, taking the total to 13, he said.
"Out of the 69 active cases in Riau Islands, 39 of them are infected with Omicron," he added.
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According to the task force data, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Riau Islands has recorded a total of 53,988 COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients recovering from the infection has been pegged at 52,160 and the number of fatalities at 1,759.
"We are appealing to all elements of society to consistently implement the health protocols and avoid crowds," the spokesperson remarked.
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The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of February 1, 2022, at least 4,369,391 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country, while 4,143,694 people have recovered and 144,348 people have succumbed to the virus.
The first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Indonesia was detected by the Ministry of Health on December 15, 2021.
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Translator: Nikolas Panama, Raka Adji
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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