The Ministry Of Health Estimates The Number Of People Without Symptoms And Confirmed COVID-19 In Indonesia To Reach 16 Million People

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health estimates that the number of people who are confirmed positive for COVID-19 without symptoms or confirmed in Indonesia will reach 16 million people based on a survey from August 2020 to February 2021.

"Yes, this is OTG (People Without Symptoms) survey data from August to February 2021", said the Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, quoted by Antara, Friday, November 26.

Nadia said that during that period there was 60-80 percent of people infected with COVID-19 did not show symptoms and thus escaped a medical diagnosis.

The survey on OTG, said Nadia, was carried out by the Ministry of Health together with the Faculty of Health, University of Indonesia (FKUI) to obtain seroprevalence data within a year since the pandemic hit. "So it's not the result of screening the estimated number of people infected with COVID-19", she said.

Nadia confirmed that most OTGs in Indonesia were reported to have recovered. "Because if it gets worse, the report will definitely reach the health facility and it will definitely be diagnosed", she said.

According to Nadia, testing and tracing for COVID-19 in Indonesia has approached the standard and even testing has exceeded the WHO standard.

Currently, the national COVID-19 testing rate is 3.25 per 1,000 population. Where the standard of the COVID-19 testing rate by WHO is 1 per 1,000 population.

Previously, Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia currently reached more than 4.2 million. Nadia estimates that the actual figure is four times that, which is around 16 million when calculated with the estimated OTG figure.

Nadia said the figure was the result of a seroprevalence survey conducted with the Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia.