DKI Provincial Government: Omicron BA.4 And BA.5 Potentially Leads To Spike In COVID-19 Cases

Illustration of health workers handling COVID-19 patients in the country. (Between)

JAKARTA - COVID-19 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants have been detected in Indonesia. The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government stated that these two new variants have the potential to cause a spike in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, which is currently still sloping.

"Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which have the potential to cause a spike in COVID-19 cases, have been officially detected in Indonesia," wrote the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government statement on the DKI Jakarta Instagram account, quoted on Monday, June 13.

The DKI Provincial Government explained that the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants could lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases because the characteristics of this virus are better able to evade the body's immunity from vaccinations and natural infections.

"Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants are easier to infect especially in people who have not been vaccinated," he wrote.

Although more infectious than the previous Omicron variant, to date there is no indication that this variant is more severe than other Omicron variants.

"This variant can still be detected by PCR and antigen. In addition, antibodies in people who have been vaccinated can fight this variant," he continued.

As is known, the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants were first reported to be detected in Indonesia on June 6, 2022. Reportedly, there were four cases consisting of 1 Indonesian citizen who was BA.4 positive and 3 cases of BA.5.

The Ministry of Health noted that one BA.4 case was reported asymptomatic and had received two doses of vaccination.

Meanwhile, three BA.5 cases were delegates to the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction meeting in Bali on 23 to 28 May. The clinical conditions of the three people include two asymptomatic people and one mild symptom with sore throat and body aches. They have received booster vaccines, on average, some have even been vaccinated against COVID-19.

To date, there have been 6,903 cases of COVID-19 subvariant BA.4 worldwide. The reports come from 58 countries and there are 5 countries with the most BA.4 reports, including South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Israel.

Meanwhile, the BA.5 subvariance has been reported as many as 8,687 sequences from 63 countries. There are 5 countries with the most sequence reports, namely America, Portugal, Germany, England, and South Africa.