Two Omicron Patients Died, House of Representatives: Alert, Indonesia Can't Avoid

Funeral for the bodies of COVID-19 patients / Antara

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health recorded two confirmed cases of Omicron death. Member of Commission IX of the Indonesia House of Representatives, Rahmad Handoyo, reminded that two cases of deaths due to the Omicron variant that occurred on Saturday, January 22, should serve as a warning in the face of a surge in Omicron.

He appealed to all parties to prepare for the wave of the Omicron variant which is predicted to occur in the next few weeks with the number of cases reaching tens of thousands.

"As an anticipatory measure, I think we must be vigilant. Moreover, two patients with the Omicron variant have died. This means that there is a case fatality rate", said Rahmad, Monday, January 24.

According to him, this incident proves that Omicron is indeed dangerous and real. At the same time also risky for people who have not been vaccinated. "And for people who, even though they have been vaccinated, have comorbidities", he said.

Rahmad said, if you look at the Omicron storm that hit various countries in the world, it can be predicted that Indonesia will not be able to avoid the Omicron variant.

"What is important at this time is how we can anticipate the spike, we can minimize the peak and not cause casualties", he said.

The PDIP politician explained that if he looks in the mirror from various countries and the available statistical data, it shows that the peak of the Omicron will occur between 30-70 days after it was first discovered in South Africa last December.

"That's the peak, yes, there are up to 30 days and 40 days there are only 70 days when the peak is just experiencing a downward phase process. That's why we are preparing ourselves in the near future, because it is predicted that a large Omicron surge will occur", he said.

Therefore, the Central Java Legislator hopes that all citizens can remind each other that the Omicron variant cannot be underestimated and is not dangerous. Especially for comorbid patients.

"We know that there are still millions of people who have not been vaccinated. This must be a common concern and we must be more careful", he said.

Previously, the Ministry of Health reported that two confirmed cases of Omicron died on Saturday, January 22, 2022. One case, which was a local transmission, died at the Sari Asih Hospital in Ciputat. Meanwhile, another one who was a foreign traveler died at the Sulianti Saroso Hospital.

Both are the first reports of fatalities in Indonesia due to the Omicron variant which has high infectiousness. Both were recorded as comorbid patients.

"One case was a local transmission, died at the Sari Asih Hospital in Ciputat and the other was a foreign traveler, died at the Sulianti Saroso Hospital", said a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi.