The Mutation Of The Virus That Caused The COVID-19 Tsunami In India Is Already In Indonesia, Minister Of Health Budi: There Are 10 Positive People

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that currently, Indonesia has a new mutation of COVID-19 of the same type in the case in India. The case was of type B117.

The B117 virus originated in the UK and has spread to a number of countries. This virus mutation is said to be transmitted more quickly than the initial type.

Budi said that the transmission of the B117 virus mutation was one of the factors in India experiencing the 'tsunami' COVID-19 with a very sharp increase in cases. In Indonesia, 10 cases of B117 have been found.

"The mutation of the new virus that has increased cases in India has also entered Indonesia. There are 10 people who have been infected with the virus", Budi said in a YouTube broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat, Monday, April 26.

Budi explained that six of the cases were imported cases or cases that came from foreign travelers. Meanwhile, four of them are local transmissions. These four cases had no history of overseas visits.

Budi said that the four cases of local transmission needed to be controlled so that Indonesia would not experience a spike in cases like what happened in India.

"This one we need to guard, 2 in Sumatra, 1 in West Java, and 1 in South Kalimantan. So, for the provinces in Sumatra, West Java, and Kalimantan, we will be more very careful to always control, whether there is a new mutation or not", he said.

Not to mention, currently, there are at least 12 Indian citizens out of 129 who have entered Indonesia who are positive for COVID-19. They are now being isolated in a hotel in Jakarta.

Currently, the government is conducting a whole genome sequencing test to check the type of coronavirus present in the case of this Indian foreigner. However, the results are not yet known.