Don't Panic Facing Third Wave Of COVID-19 Pandemic

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JAKARTA - Since the announcement of the findings of the first five patients with the Omicron variant on December 16, 2021, until the end of January 2022, cases of the new variant of COVID-19 in Indonesia have continued to surge, after briefly sloping down after the second wave in June-July 2021.

It was recorded that as of Wednesday, January 26, the number of patients with the Omicron variant in Indonesia reached 1,988 patients, while the number of daily COVID-19 cases reached 9,905 cases as of Friday, January 28, and 11,588 cases on Saturday, January 29.

The Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin estimates that the number of cases will continue to increase, even reaching its peak in February to early March 2022, of course with the largest contributor to the Omicron variant.

DKI Jakarta is the largest contributor of additional daily confirmed cases of COVID-19, reaching 4,558 people as of Friday, January 28 at 12.00 western Indonesia time. This fact is very reasonable because Jakarta is a business and political center with high mobility of citizens, which allows the virus to spread quickly.

What's more, the omicron variant, based on expert data, has a very fast transmission rate of up to five times that of the previous variants.

Not only in Indonesia, but a number of countries also recorded a significant increase in positive cases due to Omicron.

According to the National Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, at least 150 countries have had Omicron cases with more than 500,000 cases detected.

Six countries were recorded in the top 10 countries with the most positive cases, ranging from 3,000-160,000 cases, namely Italy, which experienced a 122-fold increase in cases to 1.3 million cases per week.

Followed by Australia with a 62-fold increase in cases to 760,000 cases per week, France rose 43-fold to 2,000,000 cases per week, Canada rose 18-fold to 320,000 cases per week, the United States rose 11-fold to 5.6 million per week and the UK doubled to 700,000 cases per week.

It is hoped that this significant increase in cases will not cause public panic, because the government has prepared various handling strategies and reflects on the experience of dealing with waves one and two of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Symptom

The statement by the Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi so that people don't panic, is of course reasonable. Although cases are increasing, the positive cases recorded and hospitalized show mild symptoms.

According to the Director of Prof. DR Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital (RSPI) Jakarta, Mohammad Syahril, what must be understood about the Omicron variant is that it transmits very quickly, has mild symptoms, but can avoid the antibodies that are formed.

Syahril said the symptoms of the Omicron variant are actually almost the same as the symptoms of the previous variants, namely fever, cough, and itching in the throat, especially in mild to moderate degrees.

According to Syahril, there are no distinctive and special symptoms that are different from the delta variant and other variants.

While in moderate, severe to critical, depending on the severity. For example, if in severe degrees experience shortness of breath and disturbances in the digestive system.

But in essence, this disease attacks the respiratory system, so if you experience shortness of breath, you need High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) oxygen which is very high pressure, and even patients need a ventilator if they are very critical.

The Lung Doctor at the Friendship Central General Hospital (RSUP) Erlina Burhan said the most common symptoms found in patients treated at the East Jakarta hospital were coughs and sore throats.

Erlina said that cough and sore or itchy throat were typical symptoms of the omicron variant, in contrast to delta, where most of the patients had fever.

Of the patients treated, only about 18 to 20 percent had fever, while during the delta variant, almost 90 percent had fever. None of the patients with known omicron and possibly exposed to the new variant had shortness of breath or needed a ventilator.

It shows that there is no damage to the lungs. Based on the data it is known that omicron develops in the upper respiratory tract.

So, according to Elina, the symptoms are only mild, if people know someone has a cough, sore throat, or itchy throat for the current condition of omicron, we suspect that it is omicron. Don't wait for fever, especially if there is a history of contact with the patient, so get yourself checked immediately.

Government strategy

As a step to prevent the spread and increase of COVID-19 cases, health protocols are still the main strategy that the government continues to promote, namely the 5M, namely wearing masks, washing hands, staying away from crowds, maintaining distance, and reducing mobility.

Minister of Health Budi also revealed that the most important health protocols were implemented and there was no need to panic in the face of increasing cases.

In addition, the government continues to accelerate vaccination, including booster vaccines, especially in DKI Jakarta.

In a discussion with the media regarding the government's strategy for dealing with the third wave on Thursday, January 27, which was conducted online, the Minister of Health admitted that he and the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan were accelerating vaccination in Jakarta and asked several private sectors to help set up a vaccination center. His party will speed up booster vaccination, especially in Jakarta, because the war zone will be hit first.

Data from the COVID-19 Task Force on Friday, January 28, showed that the number of residents who had received the complete dose of vaccine reached 127.16 million, with details of 183,677,032 people being vaccinated with the first dose and 127,164,526 people receiving the second dose, and 1,382,282 people having been vaccinated.

The government is also cooperating with 17 telemedicine platforms that make it easier to provide free consultation and drug delivery services for COVID-19 patients.

To distribute medicine to the homes of sick residents, the government also cooperates with a delivery service company which is also free.

The public also does not need to panic if cases increase and require hospital treatment, because nationally the installed capacity is 70,000 isolation beds and the maximum capacity is up to 130 thousand beds.

Meanwhile, currently, 7,688 beds are occupied, so the Minister of Health estimates that currently there are only about 7-8 percent of occupied beds (BOR) in hospitals, while in DKI Jakarta, the hospital's maximum capacity can be up to 11,500 beds, with a current installed capacity of 3,900 beds.

Based on the data being treated at the hospital, most of them are elderly and have comorbidities or comorbidities, so there is great hope that the third wave will not be like before and can be handled properly.

Therefore, Budi Gunadi again reminded the public not to worry even though the number is high because the transmission is indeed fast, but the important thing is that everything is controlled. We remain vigilant and continue to adhere to health protocols.