TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia recorded an increase in Covid-19 cases reaching 620 percent in the past month, which is the highest compared to other countries. "The most significant increase is 620 percent in 28 days," said expert team coordinator and national Covid task force spokesperson, Wiku Adisasmito, in an online press conference on Friday, July 1.

The number surpassed Bangladesh which recorded a 500 percent case surge in 22 days, or Britain with a 380 percent hike in 23 days. Meanwhile, Italy recorded a 241 percent hike in 25 days, Germany 209 percent in 22 days, Singapore 116 percent in 18 days, Malaysia 49 percent in 19 days, and Covid cases in the U.S. increased by 14 percent in 8 days. "This must be taken seriously, this means that we need to be vigilant again and this proves that Covid-19 is still there," said Wiku.

He went on to say that Indonesia recorded daily cases of above 2,000 in 2 days in a row. Despite the number still below the peaks of case surge in the past but Wiku still asked for it to be suppressed so the number of positive cases will not get higher, especially in Indonesia.

Wike referred to the school holiday period that tends to the increased mobility of the public to tourist destinations. In addition, public mobility will increase ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday this year. "Today's cases may have happened due to our negligence in abiding by the health protocol due to the controlled condition," he said.

Data from GISAID showed that more than 99 percent of variants that were reported from Indonesia are Omicron, including the newest sub-variants; BA.4 and BA.5. Geographically, Wiku explained, the Omicron transmission was fairly in even in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.

In addition, the bed occupancy rate in Covid emergency hospital at Wisma Atlet experiences a hike. However, it is assured that the average impact of this Omicron variant does not cause high mortality rates in various countries. Scientists opine that this is due to hybrid immunity caused by both vaccination and previous Covid-19 infections.

Antara

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