COVID-19 In Indonesia Is Starting To Increase, Airlangga: Still Better Than Other Countries

JAKARTA - The case of COVID-19 in Indonesia is currently starting to increase. If in the previous week the average daily case was still at 200 cases, this week the average daily case reached 574 cases.

A number of countries are also experiencing an increase in cases. This is due to the emergence of new variants of Omicron, namely BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

However, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the increase in cases of the coronavirus in Indonesia was still in a more stable condition compared to other countries.

"Our cases are around 574 daily, if we look at Australia it could be 16.000, India 8.500, Singapore 3.100, Thailand 2.400, even Malaysia 1.700," said Airlangga at a press conference at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Monday, June 13.

Meanwhile, Airlangga continued, the average case reproduction rate (Rt) in Indonesia is also still stable, which is at number 1. The positivity rate is also still at 1.36 percent.

"We see that the transmission of cases is mostly local and the cases from overseas travel are around 25 cases. The BOR (hospital bed occupancy rate), outside Java-Bali is relatively low and the highest is only in North Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan," he said.

As is known, the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants were first reported to be detected in Indonesia on June 6, 2022. Based on the records as of June 10, there were 8 cases consisting of 2 cases of BA.4 and 6 cases of BA.5.

Of the 8 findings, there were 4 cases detected in Jakarta with 3 cases of local transmission and 1 case of overseas travelers (PPLN).

Meanwhile, 4 other cases were detected in Bali with 1 case of local transmission and 3 cases of PPLN participants of The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction delegation.

The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariant cases that have been found in Indonesia generally have mild symptoms and are asymptomatic. However, there was one case of local transmission of BA.5 with moderate symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, headache, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

It was stated that the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants could lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases because the characteristics of this virus are better able to evade the body's immune system from vaccination and natural infection.

The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are also easier to infect, especially in people who have not been vaccinated. Although more infectious than the previous Omicron variant, to date there is no indication that this variant is more severe than other Omicron variants.