Epidemiologist: One Omicron Case Can Infect 10-40 People

JAKARTA - Epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia (UI) Masdalina Pane, said that one case of COVID-19 due to infection with the Omicron variant can infect between 10 and 40 people, making it more infectious than the Delta variant.

"This Omicron is capable of transmitting at 10-40, it is stated as five times the initial variant," he said in a virtual discussion entitled "Stemming Omicron Transmission" quoted by Antara, Friday, December 24.

He said one case of infection with the initial variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was able to infect 2-4 people, while the Alpha variant was able to infect 4-6 people, and the Delta variant was able to infect 6-8 people.

Masdalina said that in the first one to two months, infection with the Omicron variant did indeed still appear in the productive group.

However, said Masdalina, what is worrying is when cases due to Omicron infection are increasing rapidly, and the variant infects to the domestic area into households where there are parents, those with comorbidities and children under five years old. who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

"Of course it is undesirable if the Omicron variant to infect households and threaten the elderly, comorbid sufferers and toddlers," he said.

Masdalina added that all parties must work together to prevent the Omicron variant from entering households so that it does not happen again, such as the trauma of infection with the Delta variant which caused cases to spike in mid-2021.

Therefore, supervision at the entrance to the country's territory, according to him, must continue to be strengthened, health protocols must always be carried out in a disciplined manner, the scope of COVID-19 vaccination is increasingly being increased.

“And 3T (testing, contact tracing and treatment) is also being strengthened, said Masdalina Pane.