The transmission of the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants is very rapid, Ahmad noted here on Monday.
"We have faced some period of case spikes, I hope (the Jakarta administration's measure) is quicker. Especially, there are subvariants of Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5, whose transmission is fast," he said.
The Jakarta government must be ready to enforce health protocol discipline, he added. Economic recovery must not be hindered again due to a lack of anticipation, he said.
"Unfortunately, (if COVID-19 cases escalate again), restaurants, stalls, and MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) will have to reduce capacity or even close," he pointed out.
According to Ahmad, as of Sunday (June 12, 2022), Jakarta had reported 322 new daily positive cases out of the national total of 551.
Therefore, he advised the provincial government not to turn a blind eye to the possibility of a surge in infections as public activities are currently running as normal.
"Because now it seems as if everything is normal, do not let there be no preparation from the provincial government," he said.
Furthermore, one of the anticipatory steps that can be taken is to add the number of booster vaccination centers in the areas where the coverage is still behind the target, he added.
As of Monday, the number of booster vaccination recipients holding a Jakarta ID reached 3.9 million, much lower than the number of recipients of the first and second doses, which was recorded at 8.8 million and 7.9 million, respectively.
Earlier, the Health Ministry's spokesperson Mohammad Syahril had announced that four cases of the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants had been detected in Bali.
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Translator: Ricky P, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
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