The provincial government has also urged residents to comply with the health protocols, assistant for people's economy and welfare to the Papua administration's regional secretary, Muhammad Musa’ad, said.
"We also appeal to our residents to get vaccinated for the sake of their health," he said, adding that going by the provincial COVID-19 Task Force's data, Papua's vaccination rate has remained relatively low.
As of June 15, 2022, the number of Papuan residents who have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has been recorded at 33.81 percent, while the number of second dose and booster recipients has been pegged at 25.49 percent and 6.15 percent, respectively, he said.
Despite their rapid spread, the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants are not expected to be deadly. Hospitals in Papua, however, need to take precautionary measures to prevent any unexpected eventuality, he added.
Related news: Indonesia braces for infection spike as Omicron subvariants emerge
Meanwhile, taking note of the spread of BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, the Health Ministry has intensified whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to check their presence in 1,242 patients confirmed positive for COVID-19 nationally as of June 15.
“Currently, the Ministry of Health is still collecting reports on WGS research results from five provinces that are experiencing an upward trend in cases," Health Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Syahril said at a dialogue entitled “Beware, Omicron is back in Indonesia,” which was broadcast online from Jakarta on Thursday.
He informed that as of June 14, the total number of BA.4 and BA.5 cases identified in Indonesia has reached 20, consisting of two BA.4 cases and 18 BA.5 cases, with all patients declared as recovered.
The WGS has been conducted to provide inputs to the relevant authorities for making policies for handling the increase in cases based on scientific data, Syahril said.
He reminded the public to remain calm amid the increase in cases due to the emergence of the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
"The increase and decline in cases is a part of the pandemic," Syahril said.
Indonesia has recorded an uptick in COVID-19 cases after the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Since June 7, positive cases of COVID-19 have remained above 500 on a daily basis.
Related news: Indonesia intensifies genome sequencing to trace BA.4, BA.5 cases
Related news: All 20 patients infected with BA.4, BA.5 subvariants recovered
Translator: Qadri P, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
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