XBB Covid-19 Variant Cases Predicted to Peak in Jakarta November-December

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The increase in Covid-19 cases of the XBB and BQ variants in Jakarta is estimated to occur from late November to early December 2022. This is due to the high infection rate compared to other types of variants with an average of thousands of cases per day.

"New cases per day are now about 2,000 to 2,500 cases, with the majority of the infected will showing mild symptoms and no symptoms at all," said Ngabila Salama, Head of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Immunization Section of the Jakarta Health Service, when contacted by Tempo, Thursday, November 10.

Ngabila stated that about 70,000 people in Jakarta had undertaken PCR tests in the last seven days. The effort was made to detect suspects exposed to the virus and prevent its spreading. "Testing and tracing are maintained properly to break the chain of infection," she said.

The majority of people infected are dominated by family clusters, while office clusters or other activities are still difficult to identify due to the fast spreading of the virus.

"The reason for this is that most people usually don't wear masks inside their houses, only when at the office and school [they] would use a mask," said Ngabila.

She added that there has been no increase in the proportion of positive cases in children. From the results of active case finding through Puskesmas screening, the positivity rate at schools is 2.5 to 3 percent. 

According to the data from the government, active cases in Jakarta as of November 9, 2022, reached 15,975 cases with a total of 43,797 cases across Indonesia. The vaccination process is also being escalated, with the number of people who receive the third vaccine doses reaching 65,552,898.

In Jakarta, about 29,579,047 vaccines have been received with the usage reaching 29,385,255 as of November 10, 2022, at 08:00 WIB. An estimated 193,792 vaccine stock remains for 35 days.

Ngabila requested the public to continue to wear a mask and undertake booster vaccines to avoid infection. Early detection and control of comorbid chronic diseases are also very important to prevent death.

"Whatever the variant is, it still needs to be prevented by using a mask and maintaining ventilation, preventing death by completing the vaccination, including boosters," she said.

Vania Andini (Magang Merdeka) | Translator: Imaji Lasahido (Intern)

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