Ministry Of Health: 75 New Variant Cases Of COVID In Central Java, Following DKI Jakarta With 48 Cases

The Ministry of Health published the findings of 145 new variants of COVID-19 in Indonesia. (Photo: ANTARA/HO-Kemenkes)

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that as of Sunday, June 13, her party had examined 1,989 sequences. Of that number, as many as 145 sequences were detected Vatiant of Concern (VoC) which is believed to be more virulent, spreads more quickly, to make the patient worse when he falls ill.

According to Siti Nadia, 47 of the total 145 cases of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant came from abroad. The rest, 98 local cases. "Currently, the case is spreading in a number of areas in Indonesia," he explained via text message to Antara, Wednesday, June 16.

A total of 36 cases were detected in Indonesia as B117 (Alfa), five cases B1351 (Beta), and 104 cases B1617.2 (Delta).

The highest number of cases were in Brebes, Cilacap, and Kudus, Central Java Province, which consisted of 75 cases of the Delta variant and one case of the Alpha variant.

Apart from Central Java, said Siti Nadia, DKI Jakarta also dominates the number of cases, each with 24 cases of Alfa variant, 4 cases of Beta, and 20 cases of Delta.

Separately, the Director of Infectious Diseases of WHO Southeast Asia for the 2018-2020 period, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said the Delta variant has the characteristics of rapid transmission.

"In the UK there have been 42,323 cases of the Delta variant, up 70 percent from the previous week, or an increase of 29,892 cases in just one week. A very large increase," he said.

The Professor of Lung at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, said that the latest UK data shows that more than 90 percent of the new COVID-19 cases in the country are currently the Delta variant, which replaces the Alfa variant, which is all dominant in the UK.

"If this pattern will also occur in our country then of course the burden will be heavy," he said.

He said the Delta variant in the UK was 60 percent more contagious than the Alfa.

"The doubling time ranges from 4.5 to 11.5 days. It would be good if there was also data on how much of a doubling of the Delta variant currently exists in our country, including of course this latest report from Kudus," he said.