Health Ministry Reports 2 Omicron Deaths

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two patients have died of Omicron in Indonesia in the first fatalities since cases of this variant of COVID-19 were first reported in the country, the Health Ministry said.

"One case was a local transmission who passed away at Sari Asih Ciputat Hospital while the other one was an international traveler who died at Sulianti Saroso Hospital," the ministry's spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, informed.

The two patients had comorbidities, she noted in a press statement released on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Indonesia added 3,205 COVID-19 cases on Saturday along with 627 recoveries and 5 deaths.

The surge in new cases was a part of an upward trend in confirmed Omicron cases in Indonesia, Tarmizi said. From December 15, 2021, till the present, at least 1,161 Omicron cases have been diagnosed in the country, she added.

Several precautionary efforts have been carried out by the government against Omicron, starting from expanding testing, tracing, and treatment, or the 3Ts, especially in Java and Bali, she said.

The government has bolstered ratio tracing and is ensuring the availability of isolation centers, expanding telemedicine access, and increasing beds for COVID-19 handling at hospitals, she added.

Recently, the ministry also issued a new regulation to handle confirmed Omicron cases in Indonesia, Tarmizi said.

The new regulation has been stipulated in the Health Minister Circulation Letter No. HK.02.01/MENKES/18/2022 on Preventing and Handling the Omicron Variant of COVID-19. It came into effect on January 17, 2022, she informed.

As per the circulation letter, confirmed Omicron patients will be handled in accordance with the COVID-19 handling procedure under which patients with moderate to severe symptoms will be treated at hospitals, she explained.

Meanwhile, patients who experience mild to no symptoms will be asked to conduct self-isolation and centered isolation, she added.

Read: Indonesia Logs a Total of 1,161 Omicron Cases

ANTARA