"Tracing must be increased so that Riau Islands' PPKM level remains at Level 1," head of the Riau Islands Health Office, Mochammad Bisri, said here on Thursday.
Currently, in several areas such as Jakarta and Java, the PPKM level has been increased, he noted. One reason for this is lack of tracing, which has consequently led to faster COVID-19 spread, he said.
COVID-19 transmission can still be suppressed in Riau Islands, even though the number of cases has continued to increase, he added.
He informed that the bed occupancy rate at hospitals in the province is currently still low.
"Therefore, even though the number of cases is increasing, the number of people who are sick is still low," he explained.
Related news: 19 confirmed Omicron cases found in Riau Islands
The health office head asserted that the province is ready to face the third COVID-19 wave as it has prepared hospitals, human resources, as well as facilities and infrastructure that can help anticipate a spike in the number of COVID-19 patients.
"The appointed hospitals are ready to face the spike in COVID-19 cases," he affirmed.
Bisri then asked residents to keep complying with the health protocols and get vaccinated to prevent COVID-19 transmission, especially amid the spread of the Omicron variant, which is said to be more transmissible compared to other variants of COVID-19.
Riau Islands has so far recorded 174 Omicron cases, and on average, most patients experienced mild symptoms, he said.
He predicted that by the end of February or early March 2022, Omicron cases would account for around 70 percent of COVID-19 cases in the province.
The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Indonesia in March 2020. According to the task force data, as of February 10, 2022, Indonesia has recorded a total of 4,667,554 COVID-19 cases, 4,234,510 recoveries, and 144,858 deaths.
The Ministry of Health detected the first Omicron case in Indonesia on December 15, 2021. With the spread of the new variant, Indonesia has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases.
Related news: Task force records increase in Omicron cases in Riau Islands
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Translator: Ogen, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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