Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA) - Mayor of Surabaya Eri Cahyadi has said that the majority of COVID-19 patients in the city who are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals are experiencing mild symptoms of the disease.

Cahyadi said here on Wednesday that there were some 400 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, and 350 of them were experiencing mild symptoms.

"We visited hospitals and have coordinated with doctors so that those with mild symptoms are not to be treated in hospitals," he said.

According to Cahyadi, people who are experiencing mild symptoms and do not want to be isolated in isolation centers can self-isolate in hotels at their own expense. Hospitals will still monitor them, he added.

Meanwhile, he said that the bed occupancy rate (BOR) in hospitals in the city has not reached 20 percent.

Cahyadi added that he had coordinated with Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa regarding isolation centers for residents outside Surabaya. Later, he said, residents outside the city could use the isolation center belonging to the East Java Provincial Government, which is located at the Surabaya-Madura Regional Development Agency (BPWS) office.

Cahyadi said he hoped that Surabaya residents would not panic in facing the Omicron variant, which is starting to spread in the city, since the public has received the first and second dose of the vaccination.

"Because, if we have been vaccinated with first and second doses, Inshallah (if God wills), it will not be as critical as the Delta variant," he said.

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 9, 2022, Indonesia has recorded 4,626,936 COVID-19 cases, 4,216,328 recoveries, and 144,784 deaths.

The Ministry of Health detected the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Indonesia on December 15, 2021. With the spread of the new variant, Indonesia has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases.

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Translator: Abdul Hakim, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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