"Health protocol implementation is the main effort aside from vaccination. Of course, we do not want another surge (in COVID-19 cases) like the ones caused by the Delta and Omicron variants earlier," spokesperson for the ministry, Mohammad Syahril, said at a press conference that was accessed online here on Friday.
Currently, there are four COVID-19 patients in Indonesia who have contracted the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, Syahril informed.
The four patients comprise one Indonesian who has contracted the BA.4 subvariant and three foreigners who have contracted the BA.5 subvariant. The three foreigners are delegates of the Global Platform Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) event in Bali.
According to Syahril, three of the patients experienced no symptoms, while one of the foreign patients reported mild symptoms.
Even though the subvariants can transmit faster, he affirmed that so far, there are no indications that they have higher severity compared to the previous Omicron subvariants.
"Thus, (there is) no need to panic. The symptoms are mild, and we can conduct self-isolation," he said.
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Nevertheless, the spokesperson reiterated that the two subvariants have reduced sensitivity to monoclonal antibodies and can bypass one's immunity, formed from vaccination or previous infection.
For this reason, the community must keep complying with the health protocols because the four patients who contracted the subvariants are fully vaccinated, he highlighted.
"On average, they have been vaccinated; some have even been vaccinated four times," he said.
The first case of COVID-19 in Indonesia was confirmed in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of June 10, 2022, the nation has recorded 6,059,363 COVID-19 cases, 5,898,384 recoveries, and 156,638 deaths.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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