Riau Provincial Government Sends PCR Test Results To Delta Variant Detection Center Lab

ILLUSTRA TION / VOI

PEKANBARU - Riau Governor Syamsuar sent a PCR swab test sample to a laboratory in Jakarta. The goal is to detect the presence or absence of a Delta variant.

"The Delta variant of COVID-19 has also entered Riau and currently the Ministry of Health has also given directions so that residents who are tested by PCR will also be forwarded to a lab in Jakarta", said Syamsuar in Pekanbaru, Tuesday, August 24.

Governor Syamsuar said the sending of PCR swab test samples to Jakarta was carried out to anticipate the transmission of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in Riau.

For the examination later, if exposed to COVID-19, the government asks to be more vigilant, and all parties in Riau must comply with health protocols.

"Therefore, health protocols are maintained, and according to the government's expectations, they are also careful because COVID-9 is not over yet", he said.

Previously, the Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi said that the variant of the COVID-19 virus from India, Delta, had a transmission rate of 60 percent faster than the variant from the UK.

Siti Nadia said the Delta variant from India is different from the variant from Africa. To note, the variant from Africa has a character that can aggravate the patient's congenital disease.

"The new variant from Africa will make the disease more severe, while the variant from India increases transmission by up to 60 percent from the UK", said Siti Nadia.

Epidemiologist Doctor Lalit Kant said the threat of new variants could derail progress in containing the corona pandemic. This variant is formed from the Delta mutation or B.1.617.2. Delta has been cited as the cause of the second wave of COVID-19 in India.

The country's health officials have identified three characteristics of Delta Plus. The Al Jazeera news site listed the first three, increasing transmissibility. Second, it binds more to lung cell receptors and potentially reduces antibody responses.