Recently, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the UK have reported an increase in infections caused by the sub-variant.
"Alhamdulillah (thank God), we do not see and hopefully, will not see an increase in (COVID-19) cases again," he said in a press statement on the Public Activity Restrictions (PPKM) Evaluation Meeting, which was accessed online here on Monday.
In the last two months, the government sequenced 8,032 genomes, Sadikin informed. The result of the sequencing showed that a portion of the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant is already dominant in Indonesia.
To prevent an increase in the number of cases and deaths, the minister called for the acceleration of vaccinations, especially among older adults.
"Almost all the deaths that occurred in Hong Kong that filled the hospitals occurred in older adults. This is a precious lesson for us," he said.
The number of older adults in Hong Kong who have been fully vaccinated is still relatively low, which is around 26 percent, he noted.
For that reason, he emphasized the importance of accelerating vaccinations among older adults to protect them.
"We have to help convince them to get vaccinated at least with two doses. Ideally, three doses," he said.
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According to the Ministry of Health’s data, as of March 14, 2022, the first dose coverage among older adults in the country has reached 77.09 percent or 16.61 million. Meanwhile, the second dose coverage has so far reached 57.53 percent or 12.39 million.
Overall, the Indonesian government is targeting to vaccinate a total of 21.5 million older adults nationwide.
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of March 14, 2022, Indonesia has recorded a total of 5,900,124 COVID-19 cases, 5,434,729 recoveries, and 152,437 deaths.
Related news: COVID-19: Count of recovered patients climbs to 55,128 on Tuesday
Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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