Children Exposed To Omicron In Surabaya Are Dominated By Ages 5-17 Years Old

SURABAYA - Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi said that on average, children exposed to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the City of Surabaya, East Java, were dominated by the age of 5-17 years.

"On average, children exposed to the Omicron variant are dominated by the age of 5-17 years. Omicron cases in children account for 17.39 percent of the total confirmed Omicron cases in the city of Surabaya," said Mayor Eri Cahyadi in Surabaya, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, February 15. .

Therefore, Mayor Eri asked parents or adults to continue to pay attention to the implementation of health protocols while at home while accompanying children. Because, he said, children in the City of Heroes are prone to being exposed to the Omicron variant.

According to Eri, the Omicron case in children in Surabaya was caused by the high level of activity and mobility of parents or adults, which triggered the emergence of family clusters.

Meanwhile, Head of the Surabaya City Health Office, Nanik Sukristina, said that children are also easily exposed when carrying out activities or activities in public places (public spaces).

"Activities in public places also dominate cases of Omicron in children," said Nanik.

For the treatment process, he continued, children who were exposed to the Omicron variant were also directed to isolate in a centralized isolation place (isoter) provided by the Surabaya City Government, namely the Surabaya Hajj Dormitory.

"When isolating at the Hajj Dormitory, parents can accompany their children there, until the child is declared cured," he said.

Regarding the cure rate, Nanik explained that the average recovery in confirmed cases with asymptomatic and mild symptoms takes 3-7 days, but it is still recommended to self-isolate for 10-14 days.

"This is the optimal isolation period even though the swab test results are negative. In fact, some are faster according to the endurance of each patient," he said.

Not only that, Nanik said the healing rate in children was very high. Because, until now there has not been found cases that require special care in children.

"However, regarding the implementation of booster vaccination against children, we are still waiting for instructions from the Indonesian Ministry of Health," he said.