Ministry Of Health: 11 New Cases Of Omicron Imported From Four Countries, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia

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JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that the eleven additional cases of the new variant of COVID-19 Omicron in the country were imports brought by foreign travelers from four countries.

"The findings of the Omicron case at the state gate show the results of strengthening surveillance and increasing whole-genome sequencing (WGS) examinations, especially for patients from travelers who are confirmed positive, so that treatment steps can be taken quickly," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi in a written statement quoted by Antara, Friday, December 24.

Nadia said the Ministry of Health recorded that there had been 11 new cases of Omicron in Indonesia, based on the results of Whole Genome Sequencing today. Thus, the total number of confirmed Omicron positive cases in Indonesia is 19.

The 11 new confirmed cases of Omicron are "imported cases", originating from international travelers who recently returned from Turkey, Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. Currently, all of them are in quarantine in Jakarta.

The following are the initial 11 additional cases of Omicron in Indonesia:

1. DAH (58) male from Turkey

2. NAN (21) male from Turkey

3. SS (53) male from Turkey

4. ADS (49), male from Turkey

5. NF (59), female from Turkey

6. ASPP (21), male from Turkey

7. R (33), male from Japan

8. AW (32 ), male from South Korea

9. RP (40), male from Japan

10. W (44), male from Japan

11. I (28) male from Saudi Arabia

Nadia appealed to the public to remain vigilant with the very fast spread of Omicron, delay travel abroad and be disciplined in carrying out health protocols, and immediately following the COVID-19 vaccination.

“Self-awareness not to travel first must be done. Especially in the midst of the Christmas and New Year holidays, it is important for us to take care of each other," she said.

Confirmed separately, the Principal Epidemiologist of the Indonesian Association of Epidemiologists (PAEI) Masdalina Pane hopes that all parties can cooperate in preventing the Omicron variant that has entered Indonesia.

"Supervision at the entrances to the country's territory must continue to be strengthened. Health protocols must always be carried out in a disciplined manner, increase vaccination coverage, and strengthen 3T," she said.

Masdalina hopes that the government will pay attention to the COVID-19 vaccination program. Although the achievement of the full vaccination rate is already more than 100 million, but if you look at the percentage, it is still below the target. Whereas vaccination is important to realize population immunity.

Regarding the entry of the Omicron variant in Indonesia, she believes that its distribution has not yet expanded or is new at the entrance to Indonesia. So far, the detection carried out by the government is quite good.