Additional Two New Omicron Cases In Indonesia Are Travelers From London

JAKARTA - Two international travelers from London, England, are quarantined at the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital (RSDC), Jakarta, due to contracting the Omicron variant, said an official from the Indonesian Ministry of Health.

"The two new cases are foreign travelers from London," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi in a statement quoted by Antara, Wednesday, December 22.

Nadia said the two new cases were added to the list of positive cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Indonesia to five people.

She said the results of the Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) examination from both patients was received by the Ministry of Health on Monday, December 20.

"They are two of 11 people who were declared probable results of the S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF) examination. The examination was released on Sunday, December 19," she said.

Nadia said the patient is currently in the quarantine process at the Wisma Atlet Jakarta Hospital in anticipation of wider transmission.

According to Nadia, the tightening at the entrance to the country continues to be tightened, especially at sea and land borders. "The positivity rate at sea and land entrances is ten times higher than in the air," she said.

Nadia appealed to the public to reduce mobility and remain disciplined in implementing health protocols.

“Self-awareness and restraining the urge to travel must be done. On the eve of Christmas and New Year's it would be better not to travel. I ask the public to work together to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 virus by refraining from traveling," she said.