19 Cases of Variants of Concern Found in Jakarta
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11 June 2021 15:55 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Health Service's head of disease prevention and control division, Dwi Oktavia, said that 19 cases with variants of concern have been found in the capital. This was obtained after the government conducted 649 whole-genome sequencing (WGS) tests.
"There are 19 cases of mutated variants of concern found in Jakarta, 18 of which have a history overseas travel while one is a local transmission," Dwi said in a written statement, Thursday, June 10.
On May 19, the government found two people in Jakarta infected with the B.1617.2 coronavirus variant, which was first discovered in India. The two patients are an Indian national and a local health worker.
As of June 10, Jakarta's total caseload has reached 440,554 of which 12,820 are active cases. The capital has also recorded 7,523 deaths and 420,211 recoveries.
Dwi said that the Office has been actively conducting whole genome sequencing to new variants of SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. She appealed to the public to be aware and on alert of new mutations.
According to Dwi, variants of concern are more infectious and causes symptoms that are more severe.
Read: Covid-19 Cluster in Kudus May Indicate New Variant: Health Deputy Minister
Lani Diana Wijaya
