Health Office: Delta Variant COVID-19 Cases Are Still Dominant In Pontianak

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PONTIANAK - The Pontianak City Health Office, West Kalimantan, noted that from the results of this week's tracking, of the more than 300 who were exposed, only two were confirmed to have the Omicron variant, the rest the Delta variant.

"The number of COVID-19 cases is still dominated by the Delta variant because from the results of tracking more than 300, two of which have been verified as Omicron variants, the rest are Delta," said Head of the Pontianak City Health Office, Sidiq Handanu, quoted by Antara, Friday, February 25.

Sidiq emphasized, whether it's the Delta, Omicron or other variants, it's the same as causing a disease called COVID-19, because the treatment, medicine and therapy are the same.

"Active cases of COVID-19 in the city of Pontianak, currently around 2,500 cases and even more, and for a day it reaches 300 cases, but has not yet reached the peak number," he said.

"Most of these active cases (COVID-19) are OTG (people without symptoms) even if there are only mild colds and coughs, they can still be said to be healthy," said Sidiq.

He added that vaccination in Pontianak City has reached 92 percent, namely for V1 (stage one), then 73 percent for V2, while for the elderly it remains at 53 percent.

According to him, there are only two ways to control COVID-19, namely by implementing health protocols (diligently wearing masks, washing with soap and running water, and not crowding), and accelerating COVID-19 vaccinations.

Meanwhile, RSUD (Regional General Hospital) Soedarso Pontianak, West Kalimantan stated its preparedness and anticipation in the face of a surge in the third wave of positive confirmed cases of COVID-19 which was predicted by experts to occur in early March 2022.

"A number of strategic steps and actions have been taken, including preparing supporting medical facilities and infrastructure, including health workers, medicines and oxygen," said Director of Soedarso Hospital Pontianak, Yuliastuti Saripawan.

He explained that his party was anticipating an increase or spike in cases by preparing as many as 140 beds. "And currently we are treating or treating as many as 42 COVID-19 patients with inpatient status," he said.

Currently, based on data from the West Kalimantan Provincial Health Office, the number of confirmed cases continues to increase, from 44,305 last week to 47,264 this week, he said.

This means, according to him, the cooperation of all parties, including the community, is needed to suppress the rate of transmission of COVID-19 in West Kalimantan.