Minister Of Health Budi Gunadi: Omicron BA.2 Variant Is Dominant In Indonesia, But The Community Immunity Is High

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin/DOK ANTARA

JAKARTA - Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the Omicron variant BA.2 has actually entered the country and dominates. However, he said the community's high immunity did not cause a spike in cases.

He conveyed this after attending a limited meeting regarding the evaluation of the implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) today.

"This variant has entered Indonesia and has become the dominant variant in Indonesia," said Budi in a press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Monday, April 4.

Although dominant, the spread of the Omicron BA.2 variant in the country did not cause an increase in cases. This condition, said Budi, is different from a number of countries in Europe and China.

In both Europe and China, the new variant has caused a spike in cases. "The government is aware that the spike in cases in Europe and also in China is caused by a new variant called Omicron BA.2," he said.

"We are lucky with the condition of the Indonesian people's immunity which is quite high so that this new variant does not cause a spike in cases in Indonesia," added Budi.

Even so, the Minister of Health Budi emphasized that the government remains cautious. Moreover, Indonesia is now one of the countries where COVID-19 cases can be controlled compared to other countries.

This caution is felt to be necessary because the government is always aware that spikes in high cases usually occur after new variants emerge. The Minister of Health stated that his party is now continuing to monitor.

"The government remains cautious because we realize that a high spike in cases always occurs with new variants," he said.

"So we always monitor the new variants that exist," concluded the former Deputy Minister of SOEs.