Task Force: 86.6 Percent Of People In 100 Regencies/Cities Have Antibodies To COVID-19

JAKARTA - The COVID-19 Handling Task Force said 86.6 percent of Indonesians in 100 districts/cities have antibodies against COVID-19.

"The survey results in 100 districts/cities in some agglomerated and non-agglomerated areas during November-December 2021 showed that 86.6 percent of the population in the surveyed area had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, either as a result of having been previously infected or due to vaccination," said the National Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adi Sasmito, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, January 4.

Then, continued Wiku, 73.2 percent of the population from the surveyed area also had antibodies even though they had never been detected positive or vaccinated against COVID-19.

Wiku hopes that the community can continue to improve the discipline of health protocols in all lines of life.

According to him, this is becoming increasingly important considering that several sectors are starting to carry out their activities.

Wiku said increasing the ratio of testing and tracing of close contacts in the community to screen for Omicron cases that have the opportunity to still roam around the community is also important.

Wiku added that so far Omicron cases have been found in 132 countries with a total of 408,651 cases.

As of January 2, 2022, Indonesia has recorded 152 cases of the Omicron variant, the majority of which come from overseas travelers with a range of symptoms, from asymptomatic to mild symptoms.

"However, until now cases of the Omicron variant can be handled well at the arrival gate, where 23 percent of them have recovered and have completed their quarantine," he said.

He said the central government continues to coordinate with local governments to immediately prepare contingency plans and anticipate if at any time there is a spike in cases.

"By continuing to monitor data and facts on the ground based on the results of joint decisions in a limited cabinet meeting, the mandatory quarantine duration for areas with high local transmission rates for the Omicron variant is 10 days, and other countries are seven days," he explained.

In the latest circular of the Task Force, he continued, it will also be regulated regarding the renewal of the list of countries of origin for arrivals that are required to run for a duration of 10 days, as well as further provisions related to quarantine dispensation.