Minister Of Health, Budi Gunadi: In The World, Cases Of COVID-19 Variant Omicron Increase 8-fold In A Week

JAKARTA - Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the world increased by eight times this week. There are currently 62,342 positive cases of the new Omicron variant worldwide.

"Last week, the number of cases rose from 7,900 worldwide to 62,342. So the increase is more than eight times a week in the world", Budi said in a press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube on Monday, December 20.

Furthermore, Budi also explained that the number of countries attacked by the Omicron variant is now increasing. If two weeks ago there were only 72 countries, now the number has reached 97 countries.

"Then the ranking also changed. Previously, South Africa was at the top, now the highest in England with 37 thousand cases", said the former Deputy Minister of SOEs.

Next, the countries with the highest prevalence of Omicron spread are Denmark with 15 thousand cases, Norway with 2,000 cases, South Africa with 1,300 cases, and the United States with 1,000 cases.

"So there has been a shift in the Omicron population and most of them are in Europe", said Budi.

"It has also been proven now that the ability to neutralize the virus after infection and immunization decreases against Omicron compared to other variants. There is a high possibility that some people who have been fully vaccinated or boosted will still be infected with Omicron", he concluded.