New Omicron Subvariants among Potential Causes of COVID-19 Surge: Task Force

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The new Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, which are more contagious than the previous variant, is one of the three potential causes of the COVID-19 surge inIndonesia, said a spokesperson for the COVID-19 handling task force Wiku Adisasmito. The specific cause, he added, has not been confirmed yet.

Indonesia recorded a spike in infections from 1,800 at the end of May to 3,600 last week. The active case numbers also increased from 2,900 as of the end of May to 4,900 as of June 13. In line with those, cases of the new subvariants were detected.

The other two potential causes are rising public mobility and lack of discipline in implementing health protocols. “The specific causes of the COVID-19 hike in Indonesia need to be identified immediately or at least within the next two to three weeks so it can be controlled properly,” said Wiku at a virtual press conference on the COVID-19 development on Tuesday afternoon, June 14, 2022.

However, Wiku added, the new daily infection recorded at 574 on June 11 was still lower than that of neighboring countries, such as Malaysia with 1,709 new cases on the same day, Thailand with 2,474 new cases, Singapore with 3,128 new cases, India with 8,582 new cases, and Australia with 16,393 new cases.

“Regardless of the causes, what's important is mutual cooperation to again suppress the positivity rate by all levels of society and the government,” Wiku emphasized.

The cheapest and easiest way to suppress the COVID-19 spike is to re-implement health protocols. Wiku stated that high public mobility will not cause an increase in cases if everyone is responsible for implementing health protocols properly and correctly. This includes the mandatory use of masks and hand washing.

ANTARA

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