Omicron Enters Indonesia, Jokowi: Don't Let Local Contagion Happen

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has spoken about the entry of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country. He asked all parties to do their best to prevent local transmission of the virus.

"Now what we have to do is jointly try our best so that the Omicron variant does not spread in the country. Do not allow local transmission to occur," said Jokowi in a statement broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Thursday, December 16.

According to him, the inclusion of the Omicron variant is unavoidable. Moreover, this type of mutation can be transmitted quickly.

So, Jokowi asked all parties to be aware of the findings of these variants. However, he asked all parties not to panic.

"We have to try to keep the situation in Indonesia good. We keep the number of active cases low, we monitor the transmission rate to stay below 1 and don't let it spike again," said the former governor of DKI Jakarta.

"It is important to be vigilant, but don't let this development make us panic. So far the Omicron variant has not shown a character that endangers the lives of patients, especially patients who have received the vaccine," added Jokowi.

Previously reported, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced the first case of the Omicron variant. Was a cleaning officer at Wisma Atlet who tested positive for COVID-19 on December 8, 2021.

Initially, there were three people who were tested. However, two of them were not confirmed to have COVID-19 Omicron and only the officer was exposed.

Currently, the three people are currently being quarantined at the Wisma Atlet and are not experiencing any symptoms even though they have tested positive for COVID-19. Furthermore, a second PCR test has also been carried out on those whose results have been negative.