Expert: Omicron's Fast Transmission Rate Is Followed By Rapid Decline In Cases

JAKARTA - The spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force from the Sebelas Maret University Hospital (UNS) dr. Tonang Dwi Ardiyanto Sp PK., PhD. said the rapid transmission of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus was followed by a rapid decline in cases.

"Although the transmission rate is fast, the number of patient care in hospitals is still significant below the Delta wave in July 2021," said Dr. Tonang in a written statement quoted by Antara, Friday, February 25.

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, health experts have better understood the patterns and characteristics of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Although the transmission speed of the Omicron variant is faster than Delta, dr. Tonang said there is hope that the peak of Omicron will also move downhill more quickly without having many patients treated or fatalities, unlike the Delta wave.

Subvariant Omicron BA.1, according to dr. Tonang, has the characteristics of rapidly developing in the respiratory tract, but slowly developing in the lungs.

"This is what we suspect is one of the factors that the symptoms experienced by patients infected with Omicron tend to be milder than the Delta variant. But we should be worried about the Omicron BA.2 subvariance, whose ability to develop in the lungs can approach Delta's ability," said dr. Tonang.

Recognized by dr. Tonang, the average degree of disease severity in patients infected with Omicron is lighter than last year's Delta variant.

However, he hopes that with more and more people getting natural immunity from infection and also more and more getting vaccinated, this virus variant will not develop further.

"I am the one who believes that if the new variant dominates, the previous variant will gradually decrease. But actually we don't need to be stuck with Omicron and Delta because all of them are both COVID-19 viruses. It's just that all these virus variants have a risk of making patients with severe symptoms. "Omicron or not, that's the importance for epidemiologists, so they can map and see future trends. But for the community, whatever the COVID-19 variant that infects it, the way to handle it is the same," said dr. Tonang.

Currently, the number of cases being treated at UNS Hospital has increased slightly. However, when compared to the previous Delta waves, it was relatively lower, said dr. Tonang.

"At the time of the last Delta wave, we converted more than half of the beds, almost 70 percent were provided for handling COVID-19. Currently, only about 40 percent are prepared and it's not full yet," said Dr. Tonang.

Apart from currently being able to maintain health care facilities, it is also known that the ratio of deaths from the Omicron period to the Delta period is also significantly different. But dr. Tonang advised the Ministry of Health to study more deeply about the current death case.

According to the observations of dr. Tonang, for the Jakarta area, if we take the weekly average of cases, the peak occurred on February 10, followed by a decrease in the death rate on February 20.

"If the pattern is like this, then the death rate will also decrease or decline a few weeks after the daily confirmed cases also decline."

People need to know several things to deal with the Omicron period which is not much different from the ways that have been done when dealing with Delta waves.

"If symptoms arise, then at that time we must also check (testing) PCR/Antigen. When the results are negative, don't be happy right away, wait two more days to make sure you go back through the PCR/Antigen test whether it's really negative or not.

If the contact is close, then a PCR/antigen test is performed initially (entry test). Whether the results are positive or negative, close contacts must quarantine for 5 days. Later on the fifth day, we will repeat the second test (exit test). If the exit test result is negative, then the quarantine is considered complete," explained dr. Tonang.

"But overall we hope that this period will reach its peak and soon descend so that the month of Ramadan this year we will not be trapped again with polemics for tarawih and Eid prayers which have been hampered for the past two years due to COVID-19," said dr. Tonang.