Omicron Variant Not Yet Detected in Indonesia: COVID-19 Task Force

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A spokesman for the National COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, confirmed there has been no case of a new coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 or the Omicron variant. “As of this morning, there has been no finding of the Omicron case,” said Wiku on Wednesday, December 1.

According to him, the government would apply multi-layered screening of foreign or Indonesian citizens coming from abroad in an effort to prevent the entry of the new variant. The government had also banned the entry of citizens from 11 countries following the presence of the new variant.

The eleven countries are South Africa, Eswatini, Hong Kong, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, and Botswana. Meanwhile, Indonesian citizens who have traveled or have transited to the said country are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine. “While those from other countries must undergo a seven-day quarantine,” Wiku added.

Ahead of the end of the year, he said, the government would implement three main strategies to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases and focus on preventing imported Omicron cases, controlling mobility, and improving the implementation of health protocols.

During the Christmas and New Year holidays, Wiku went on, the government will raise the severity level of the enforcement of public mobility restrictions or PPKM policy to level three for all regions from December 24, 2021, to January 2, 2022.

“The government is also monitoring the dynamics of virus transmission at the global level between countries that cannot be set aside considering that new variants can penetrate across countries,” Wiku said of the Omicron variant.

Read: Experts Talks of COVID-19 Omicron Symptoms

IMAM HAMDI