Siti Fadilah Says Omicron Is Dramatized, The Ministry Of Health Denies It

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health denies the statement by former Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari who said that the news about the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19 with type B.1.1.529 was too dramatized.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, emphasized that in reality the spread of Omicron had a major impact in several countries in the world, causing the government to implement a lockdown.

"It's not (dramatization). We see in England with 90,000 cases per day, the Netherlands has locked down, Switzerland has tightened and the United States' health facilities are starting to be overwhelmed because many people are infected," Nadia said when contacted, Tuesday, December 21.

Meanwhile, Head of the Behavior Change Division of the COVID-19 Task Force, Sonny B. Harmadi, emphasized that the government has no intention of scaring the public with the tightening policies implemented in connection with the entry of Omicron in Indonesia.

"Where does the government want to scare? Even the President himself advised that people don't need to panic, don't be afraid to be excessive. But they must be vigilant, by complying with health protocols and immediately participating in vaccinations," said Sonny.

Sonny said that the government always considers studies from experts in implementing policies to deal with mutations that have become a variant of WHO's concern.

"The government, including the Task Force, always applies the precautionary principle in deciding policies. It is based on data analysis, WHO recommendations, and the views of experts. Not just 1 or 2 experts, but many experts. Not the opinions of 1 or 2 people," he explained.

Previously, Siti Fadilah Supari thought that the news about the appearance of the Omicron variant in the COVID-19 mutation was too dramatized and exaggerated.

"It's dramatized like that, until someone says 'you'll die if you get hit by Omicron'," said Siti Fadilah on Realita TV's Youtube show.

In fact, according to Siti Fadilah, the nature of the Omicron mutation is not malignant, although it is easily contagious. He reminded the public not to panic if they were exposed to the Omicron variant virus.

"Omicron is due to mutation of a small amount of protein, but the strain remains the old one. What has changed is the one at the end of the protein," he said.