New COVID-19 Mutation Has Emerged In Indonesia, DKI Jakarta Seeks Expert's Advice

JAKARTA - The new mutation of COVID-19 or known as "VUI-202012/01" or B117 has emerged in Indonesia, to coincide with the "anniversary" of the coronavirus pandemic.

Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta Ahmad Riza Patria said that his party would summon virus experts and epidemiologists in facing the threat of transmitting this mutation of the virus.

"We have to deal with new mutations of viruses that come into our environment wisely. We will coordinate first. We will listen to the experts, epidemiologists", said Riza on Tuesday, March 2.

Riza said that DKI Jakarta would also follow the direction of the central government, in this case, the Task Force for Handling COVID-19 in dealing with the new COVID-19 mutation originating from the UK.

"Right now, all policies must come together. We obey the policies taken by the central government. We do our best", he said.

Meanwhile, Riza admitted that there have been no efforts to tighten community activities other than the application of micro-based Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) in dealing with COVID-19 type B117. For this reason, the Gerindra politician asked residents to adhere to health protocols.

"The most important anticipation for us is implementing health protocols. Will there be tighter controls? We'll see. We will coordinate first", he explained.

As previously reported, Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono confirmed that today a new mutation of COVID-19 was found in Indonesia. The new COVID-19 mutation is named "VUI-202012/01" or B117.

"If one year ago we found case 01 and case 02 COVID-19, last night I got information that just in exactly one year today we found the B117 mutation in Indonesia. This was only last night we found two cases", said Dante on the YouTube broadcast of Ministry of Research and Technology/National Agency for Research and Innovation.

He said that the emergence of a new coronavirus strain that had entered Indonesia meant that the pandemic challenge was getting tougher.

The new challenges, said Dante, are efforts to develop faster research processes, better treatment models, and analytical epidemiological studies.

"This mutation process is already around us. Hopefully, the collaboration we are working on from the community, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Research and Technology/National Agency for Research and Technology will create positive things that will get us out of this pandemic into one endemic scope, and if we do, maybe we will enter eradication phase", he explained.