TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the epidemiology and immunization surveillance unit at the Jakarta Health Agency, Ngabila Salama, appealed to people with comorbidities and the elderly having flu to take a COVID-19 test. This is because the agency noted that the majority of patients died due to late diagnosis.

“The majority of patients died in hospital because they are diagnosed too late and undergo PCR too late,” said Ngabila in a text message on Monday, December 12, 2022.

She mentioned that throughout July-December 2022, patients in the capital died 4-6 days after being diagnosed with positive COVID-19, which refers to the results of the PCR test. However, she stopped short of providing the details.

“Immediately take antigen or PCR test for early detection of COVID-19 and early treatment,” she underlined.

Indonesia Sees Rising COVID-19 Trend

The Health Ministry recorded an increase in COVID-19 cases across 30 provinces following the emergence of a new virus subvariant dubbed Omicron XBB.

From October 4 to November 8, 2022, at least 27,081 patients were hospitalized. Nearly half of the figure or 10,639 patients presented moderate to critical symptoms.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin reported that 1,373 patients died during the period, 84 percent of them had not received a booster vaccine. The highest mortality occurred among the elderly group, with 50 percent of them not receiving vaccination yet.

“Vaccination is necessary because COVID-19 patients suffer severe, critical, and fatal conditions because they are not vaccinated or have incomplete vaccination course, especially the booster shot,” said Budi in a written statement, on Wednesday, November 9, 2022.

LANI DIANA WIJAYA

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