Head Of BNPB Asks To Beware Of Spike In COVID-19 Due To Omicron Moving Fast Outside DKI Jakarta

Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Lt. Gen. Suharyanto. (ANTARA/Good Ahmad Rizaldi)

BANDUNG - Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Lt. Gen. Suharyanto, said the increase in COVID-19 cases during the development of the Omicron variant was now starting to be felt in areas other than DKI Jakarta.

According to Suharyanto, the initial areas that became the epicenters of COVID-19 during the Omicron spread, such as DKI Jakarta, Banten, and Bali, have seen a decline. However, regions such as West Java, Central Java, East Java, and provinces outside Java, are now starting to experience an increase.

"Indeed, this is the Omicron variant, the consequences are not too fatal, but the transmission is very fast", said Suharyanto at Bandung City Hall, Bandung City, West Java, as reported by Antara on Saturday, February 19.

He said the increase in COVID-19 cases in various regions had exceeded the increase that occurred during the surge in cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in June 2021.

Even so, according to him, the increase in cases did not lead to as many deaths as during the surge in the Delta variant. According to him, during the surge in cases of the Delta variant, the number of deaths in one day reached 2,000 people.

"At the time of Delta, there were 56 thousand confirmed cases per day and more than 2,000 died, but now the national confirmation case is 64 thousand, the highest, with less than 250 deaths", he said.

"This means that in terms of fatality, this Omicron variant virus is not as big as Delta, but many also died", he added.

Based on the evaluation, according to him, the case of death occurred because the patient who was exposed to COVID-19 had not received the vaccination. In addition, patients who died were also due to being elderly and having comorbidities.

"The main thing is the enforcement of health protocols, that is a fixed price. So that we can protect ourselves, our families, and society in general", said Suharyanto.