Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Health detected a total of 15 patients infected with the Omicron BF.7 sub variant of COVID-19 in Indonesia until Friday, and they comprised both imported cases and those through local transmission.

"Nine cases among them are from local transmission. The rest came from international travelers (imported)," Head of the Public Communication and Service Bureau at the Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi stated here on Friday.

In detail, the Omicron sub-variant, which triggered a case spike in China and other countries, was found in Jakarta, with seven cases; West Java, one case; and Bali, seven cases, she noted.

To this day, the ministry continues to monitor the fluctuation in the number of BF.7 cases through genomic surveillance activity from people, who had come in close contact with the patients.

In addition, monitoring of several entryways has been tightened, she remarked.

Tarmizi urged the public, who are in the middle of the 2022 Christmas and 2023 New Year holidays, to comply with the COVID-19 Handling Task Force No. 24 and 25 on Domestic and Overseas Travelers.

This is undertaken to prevent the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Meanwhile, the ministry's spokesperson, Mohammad Syahril, noted that until Thursday evening, there were seven BF.7 cases.

Five of the patients reside in Jakarta, while two live outside Jakarta, and they have been entrusted to the local health office, he remarked.

All patients were declared to have recovered after undergoing self-isolation at their homes for 10 days, he confirmed.

"Everyone had mild symptoms. The most frequent symptoms were fever, cough, runny nose, and sore throat," he stated.

"There are those with anosmia or have loss of sense of smell and there are those who complaint about abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting," he noted.

Syahril urged people to not panic in processing this news as long as they undergo complete and booster dose under the COVID-19 vaccination program.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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