Deputy Governor Of DKI: Don't Play With Quarantine Regarding 162 Omicron Cases

Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta Riza Patria/ANTARA

JAKARTA - Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta Ahmad Riza Patria emphasized that no one should play around with quarantine in connection with the confirmed 162 positive cases of COVID-19, the Omicron variant.

"Coordinating Minister for Marvest, Pak Luhut PanDjaitan, has conveyed the importance of quarantine today. There is no more playing around with quarantine," said Riza Patria at Jakarta City Hall, quoted by Antara, Monday, January 3.

Riza Patria emphasized this, because the majority of Omicron cases in Jakarta came from overseas travel, so he asked all travelers from abroad to obey quarantine when arriving in Indonesia as regulated by the central government.

Based on the data he received, Riza Patria explained, the number of 162 cases was an accumulation of additional cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Jakarta, based on the results of the Ministry of Health's Litbangkes examination, as many as 15 people and from the GSI Lab as many as 12 people.

With the additional findings of the Omricon case, Riza appealed to the public to remain careful because Omicron cases began to increase in DKI Jakarta.

"Prokes must be carried out, we always carry out disinfection, the people of DKI Jakarta must be very obedient," he said.

According to the South African virologist who first discovered the Omicron variant, Wolfgang Preiser, many people have the potential to be exposed to this new variant of COVID-19, because Omicron's highly contagious nature makes it impossible for people close to the sufferer to escape infection.

"With this variant, it is impossible to escape infection," he said.

According to Preiser, although Omicron is not malignant, he has seen patients who have died from the Omricon variant of COVID-19.

It is known, Omicron was first discovered in November 2021 and infected many people in Europe. Even in France, Omciron's daily cases reached 200,000 cases per day.