Cases Of COVID-19 In Riau Islands Increase 100 Percent, Last Week Only 17 Patients, But Now Touching 33

Spokesperson for the Riau Islands COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Tjejtep Yudiana/ANTARA

KEPRI - The Riau Islands Province COVID-19 Task Force noted that active cases of COVID-19 in the region rose 100 percent in the past week.

"Last week there were still 17 COVID-19 patients, now there are 33 after one person was declared cured," said Riau Islands COVID-19 Handling Task Force Spokesperson Tjejtep Yudiana in Tanjungpinang City, Antara, Wednesday, July 13.

Tjetjep stated that active cases in Riau Islands were not evenly distributed, although they tended to increase. Of the seven regencies and cities in Riau Islands, only Batam, Tanjungpinang and Karimun districts have active cases.

The number of active COVID-19 cases is 22 people, the highest is in Riau Islands, then Tanjungpinang is seven people and Karimin is four people.

Meanwhile, four other regencies, namely Bintan, Natuna, Anambas Islands and Lingga, have zero active cases of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Handling Task Force has designated Natuna, Anambas and Lingga as Green Zones, while four other districts and cities are Yellow Zones or low risk of transmission.

"There is a tendency for active COVID-19 cases to continue to increase this month," he said.

The former Head of the Riau Islands Health Service explained that almost all of the patients were infected with Omicron, a variant of COVID-19. Omicron is more contagious than COVID-19, the average patient recovers easily and has mild symptoms.

"From the research results of the Ministry of Health's expert team, no other variant has been found besides Omicron," he said.

He appealed to the public to be aware of the increase in the number of COVID-19 patients in Riau Islands, by being disciplined in implementing health protocols and supporting vaccination programs. Based on the results of the study, the peak of COVID-19 cases occurred this month.

"On average, patients who have contracted COVID-19 and the COVID-19 variant are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms because they have received the third dose of vaccine or booster," he said.