There Are 12 Cases Of COVID Subvariant XBB And XBB.1 In Indonesia: 2 From Overseas Travel, 10 Local Transmissions

Illustration-(Photo: DOK ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) reported a total of 12 new subvariant COVID-19 cases of Omicron XBB and XBB.1 in Indonesia. "Of these 12 cases, two of them are from overseas travel, namely from Singapore, and 10 cases of local transmission," said Ministry of Health spokesman Mohammad Syahril in a press conference that was attended online in Jakarta, Antara, Friday, November 4. Although the new subvariant is contagious, the Ministry of Health noted that there has been no increase in severity or death like the previous COVID-19 variant infection. "The characteristics of the XBB variant are not as severe as the previous variant. The death rate and hospitality are not high," he said. Nevertheless, Syahril reminded the public to remain disciplined in implementing health protocols as part of prevention efforts. "Health protocols are a requirement, don't slack off because this is part of the protection, prevention and control of COVID-19," he said. Until now, he said the Omicron XBB subvariant had been identified in 28 countries. "There are 28 countries that have increased and reported cases of XBB, an increase is associated with XBB," he said. On that occasion, Syahril also said that COVID-19 cases in the past week tended to increase to 78 percent, with a positivity rate or proportion of positive people from all people tested to increase to 15.98 percent. "The positivity rate is related to the number of our testing which is not too high, the hope is that in the future the number of testing will increase along with the new variant," he said. As of November 3, 2022, he continued, there were 30 provinces that experienced an increase in cases in the past week. "This is a note for all of us that the pandemic is still around us," he said.