"To anticipate a surge in cases during Eid exodus (period), the West Java Health Office is coordinating with district and city health offices to set up Eid exodus health posts at designated locations," the office's Head of Disease Prevention and Control, Rochady, stated when contacted on Thursday.
According to Rochady, those posts will report health-related cases among exodus travelers through the Health Ministry's application.
In addition, he said, several posts offer COVID-19 vaccination services to facilitate people in obtaining booster vaccines.
Meanwhile, Acting Head of the West Java Health Office Nina Susana appealed to people to continue to comply with health protocols following the rise in COVID-19 cases. Based on the West Java Province Dashboard data, 234 cases were recorded on April 18, 2023.
"COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, especially in West Java, experienced a significant rise in line with the emergence of the COVID-19 Arcturus sub-variant ahead of Eid al-Fitr," she remarked.
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Despite the rise in cases, she noted that the Arcturus variant is not yet a cause for concern. Nevertheless, people are still urged to comply with health protocols, such as wearing masks.
"Remember, keep wearing masks in crowded places. Then, if experiencing signs and symptoms, immediately visit the nearest health facilities for a COVID-19 test," she remarked.
Earlier, on Wednesday (April 26, 2023), spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, Mohammad Syahril, stated that the Arcturus sub-variant has triggered a rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks in Indonesia.
The symptoms caused by the sub-variant include red eyes or eye boogers in children, fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing, fatigue, muscle or body pain, headaches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
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Translator: Ajat Sudrajat, Raka Adji
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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