Indonesia Records COVID-19 BF.7 Variant Cases, Both Local and Imported

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Health Ministry detected 15 patients infected with the new variant of COVID-19, BF.7, as of Friday, December 30, 2022. All of them were both imported and local cases.

"Nine of the cases were local transmissions. The rest came from foreign travelers," said the Ministry of Health's head of communication and public service Siti Nadia Tarmizi, in Jakarta on Friday, December 30, 2022.

Nadia detailed that the findings of the Omicron sub-variant which triggered a spike in cases in China and a number of other countries were reported from Jakarta (seven cases), West Java (one case), and Bali (seven cases).

The ministry continued to monitor the trend of BF.7 cases through genomic surveillance activities from people who made close contact with patients. People are encouraged to comply with the COVID-19 Task Force's Regulations No. 24 and No. 25 on domestic and international travel to prevent virus transmission. 

The Ministry of Health's spokesperson Mohammad Syahril added that all patients had recovered after undergoing home isolation for 10 days. "All of them presented mild symptoms. The most common symptoms include fever, cough, and sore throat. Some suffer anosmia, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting," Syahril explained.

Syahril also appealed to the public not to panic over the emergence of the new COVID-19 variant, BF.7, as long as a complete vaccination course and a booster dose have been taken.

ANTARA

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