jpnn.com, JAKARTA - The number of people contracted the Omicron Covid-19 variant in the country has increased to three, as of Friday (17/12).
Covid-19 vaccination spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the two new patients were among five suspected Omicron carriers who had just returned to Indonesia from other countries.
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"The two most recent confirmed patients are IKWJ (42), a male traveling from South America, and M (50), a male traveling from England," said Nadia in a written statement, Saturday (18/12).
She said that the two new patients were currently undergoing quarantine at the Wisma Atlet emergency hospital in Jakarta.
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The first Omicron patient was confirmed on Thursday (16/12). He was identified with the initial N, a cleaning worker at Wisma Atlet.
The two newest patients were confirmed after undergoing mandatory ten-day quarantine upon returning from abroad.
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Nadia said that the government's protection system had been running well against transmission from foreign arrivals infected with Covid-19.
She appealed to the public to remain vigilant and not to travel abroad at the moment, especially considering the fast spread of Omicron.
Covid-19 cases in several European, African, and American countries are reaching record highs along with the spread of the Omicron variant, which reportedly has five times the transmission power of the Delta variant.
The Delta variant once led Indonesia to its highest record of Covid-19 transmission in May and June 2021.
The government predicts the flow of international travels will reach its peak in the first and second weeks of January 2022 as the Christmas and New Year holidays end. (antara/mcr20/jpnn)
This news has been broadcast on JPNN.com with the title: Lagi, 2 Pasien Terkonfirmasi Varian Omicron