TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Health Ministry director of disease prevention and control Siti Nadia Tarmizi on Wednesday urged people to immediately take a Covid-19 test once they suffer from flu-like symptoms. This comes after health authorities found that symptoms of Omicron infection resemble the common flu.

“People should immediately take the test once they feel a change in health,” said Nadia on January 26.

According to the spokesperson who holds a general practitioner degree, the common symptoms of Omicron patients are generally much milder than those infected by the Delta variant. Some, she said, have even shown zero symptoms.

As of January 26, the total number of Omicron infections in Indonesia reaches 1,766 cases with 1,066 of them carried by people traveling abroad, while 449 others came from local transmissions.

On Saturday, January 22, two patients who were infected with the Omicron variant passed away while undergoing hospital treatment. One of the patients suffered comorbidity in the form of diabetes and hypertension while the other suffered from hypertension and kidney disease.

A spokesperson for the Covid-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, said the symptoms in Omicron were not specific and are allegedly milder in groups of people with Covid-19 immunity. However, he reminds the public that people must remain alert and follow existing health protocols.

Read: Surge of Omicron Cases due to Returning Travelers from Abroad: Luhut

MAYA AYU PUSPITASARI