INDONESIA BRACES FOR INFECTION SPIKE AS OMICRON SUBVARIANTS EMERGE by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 17/6/2022 (ANTARA) - Two Omicron subvariants, which surfaced in early June this year, have threatened the sense of normalcy that had returned to Indonesia in the last couple of months, when restrictions were relaxed as COVID-19 cases remained under control.

The country recorded 168 daily cases on May 2, 2022, and 218 cases on May 30, fueling hopes of a shift to endemicity. However, the number of daily cases shot up to 1,242 on June 15.

President Joko Widodo has urged officials to improve the accessibility of the COVID-19 booster vaccine to prevent a spike triggered by the new subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5.

So far, the government has administered the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to a total of 168,183,942 people, or 80.75 percent of the national target of 208,265,720 people.

On June 10, the Health Ministry informed that the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia has been triggered by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which entered the country in early June 2022.

The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants can evade immunity formed through vaccination and spread rapidly. The current increase has nothing to do with the easing of restrictions during the holidays and has been caused by the spread of new variants.

As of June 15, at least 20 cases of the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants have been detected in Indonesia.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin assured that the situation in Indonesia is still under control based on the two World Health Organization (WHO) indicators.

INDONESIA MULLS PANDEMIC TO ENDEMIC SHIFT by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 9/3/2022 (ANTARA) - It has been two years since the World Health Organization (WHO), on March 11, 2020, declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic amid a drastic spike in infections globally.

Indonesia, which announced its first COVID-19 cases on March 2, 2020, has been battling the virus and has managed to control three waves of infections triggered by the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants of COVID-19, respectively.

The country has seen a downward trend after intensifying the implementation of health protocols, such as wearing masks and keeping a safe distance, and stepping up vaccinations to control virus spread.

On March 8, 2022, Indonesia logged 30,148 fresh COVID-19 cases, 55,128 recoveries, and 401 deaths amid the third wave triggered by the Omicron variant.

The nations Task Force for COVID-19 Handling pegged the total number of cases at 5,800,253, recoveries at 5,226,530, and deaths 150,831, as of March 8, 2022.

According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of March 7, nearly 192,134,689 Indonesians have received their first COVID-19 jab, 148,347,458 have been fully vaccinated, and 12,698,131 have received the booster dose.

The government has set a target of vaccinating at least 208 million of its over 270 million population to achieve herd immunity. The national vaccination drive started on January 13, 2021.

The first dose vaccination coverage has so far touched 92.2 percent while complete dose coverage has reached 71.03 percent and booster coverage is still below 10 percent of the target.

The government is currently preparing a road map to support Indonesias gradual transition from the pandemic to endemic phase, according to the governments spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Reisa Broto Asmoro.

The road map will be used to normalize community activities gradually through virus control policies, setting a hospital occupancy limit, and suppressing the death rate to ensure it remains at a low level, she elaborated.

The road map has been drafted by carefully taking some things into account, not only related to health and science, but also several aspects of people's lives such as social, cultural, and economic aspects, she said.

In order to get ready for an endemic period, the tracking capacity must also be improved, and this will require cooperation from all parties in implementing the health protocols, she added.

"The community also has a role to play in halting the spread of COVID-19, and so far, we have learned for two years long, to start living by adapting to new habits that we do every day," she said on March 7.

Hence, the pre-endemic health protocols are also being finalized and they will be implemented as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, she added.

The pre-endemic health protocols have been prepared by involving various stakeholders such as epidemiologists and health practitioners, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, informed on March 7.

The protocols include the cessation of negative antigen or PCR tests requirements for fully vaccinated domestic travelers arriving via land, sea, and air, she said.

 

GOVT BOLSTERS STRATEGIES AS OMICRON WAVE SWEEPS INDONESIA by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 16/2/2022 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is currently witnessing the third wave of COVID-19 infections triggered by the Omicron variant, which, though less deadly, is much more infectious than the Delta variant.

The country added 64,718 daily COVID-19 cases on February 16, 2022, surpassing the second waves peak single-day addition of 56,757 cases on July 15, 2021.

Most of the new infections reported were contributed by West Java (14,058), followed by Jakarta (9,482), East Java (7,528), Banten (6,509), Central Java (3,514), and Bali (1,862), according to the Task Force for COVID-19 Handling.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020, while the Ministry of Health detected the first Omicron infection on December 15, 2021.

As of February 15, 2022, the countrys total COVID-19 case count has reached 4,901,328, while total recoveries have been recorded at 4,349,848 and total deaths at 145,455.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 spike, the situation is relatively under control as the hospital bed occupancy rate is quite low, and medicines and supporting facilities are adequately available, officials said.

Taking note of the surge, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked citizens to remain calm and disciplined in implementing the health protocols to curb the spread of COVID-19 transmission.

"I call on the people at large to stay calm, disciplined in implementing the health protocols, and reduce their unnecessary activities," he tweeted on his official Twitter account on February 13, 2022.

Omicron is more transmissible, but its infection fatality rate is less severe than the Delta variant, he noted while urging unvaccinated Indonesians to get the shots immediately.

"The COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are also needed for eligible persons who fully get vaccinated," he said.

INDONESIA ACCELERATES VACCINATION DRIVE AMID THREAT OF OMICRON SPREAD By Fardah

 

Jakarta, 21/1/2022 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Government has expedited the implementation of the vaccination drive, including booster shot offers, following the surfacing of the new COVID-19 variant called Omicron that has spread in several countries.

Optimizing the vaccination campaign has become increasingly urgent, as the nation has reported a nearly fivefold increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the past three weeks, according to the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

The number of COVID-19 cases had increased, from 1,123 to 5,454 in the past three weeks, spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, stated on January 20, 2022.

The number of active COVID-19 cases this week reached 8,605, an increase of three thousand as compared to the previous week when the number of cases totalled 5,494. The spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia is mostly due to local transmission.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. As of January 20, 2022, at least 4,277,644 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in the country, while 4,121,117 people had recovered, and 144,199 people had succumbed to the virus.



The Health Ministry detected the first Omicron case in Indonesia on December 15, 2021. As of January 20, 2022, the ministry has recorded as many as 882 Omicron cases in the country.

Based on data from the COVID-19 Task Force, as of January 20, a total of 179,153,744 Indonesians had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 122,378,266 people had received the second dose.

Overall, the government is targeting to fully vaccinate 208,265,720 Indonesians out of the nations population of over 273 million.

In addition, 1,328,659, or 90.46 percent of the health workers have been administered the booster vaccine.

The Indonesian government, on January 12, 2022, rolled out booster vaccinations for the public, in general, who have completed six months since having received the second COVID-19 dose.

Booster vaccinations, which are free and not mandatory, aim to offer additional protection to individuals amid the emergence of the Omicron strain.

INDONESIA REMAINS VIGILANT OF OMICRON THREAT DURING HOLIDAY SEASON By Fardah

Jakarta, 22/12/2021 (ANTARA) - Indonesia recorded a low COVID-19 transmission rate in the last several months after surviving the second Delta variant-triggered wave in June-September 2021.

During that period, the daily cases peaked at 56,757 on July 15 and daily deaths at 2,069 on July 27.

With COVID-19 infections being successfully brought under control, normalcy has gradually been restored in the lives of Indonesians.

The nation recorded 179 daily confirmed COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths on December 22, 2021, thereby bringing the total count of COVID-19 cases so far to 4,261,072, and deaths to 144,034 until now.

Tourist attractions, restaurants, places of worship, and amusement centers are reopening under compliance to strict health protocol measures.

Wedding receptions, religious events, sports matches, and conferences are allowed to be held, albeit with several restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19.

The Health Ministry quoted the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as reporting that Indonesia is included as a country with a low risk of COVID-19 transmission.

"Indonesia is included in the level one category, which is the low category," Siti Nadia Tarmizi, spokesperson of the ministrys COVID-19 vaccination affairs, noted.

As the nation breathes a sigh of relief after being able to bring the COVID-19 transmission under control, the world has once again been shaken by reports of a new COVID-19 variant called Omicron that was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on November 24, 2021.

The risk of COVID-19 reinfection is more than five folds higher, with the omicron variant than with the delta variant, according to a new study by the Imperial College London.

Researchers also noted that there was no sign that the infections were any milder, though data on hospitalizations is still very limited.

As a precautionary response, the government has appealed to every Indonesian to remain alert by tightening the implementation of health protocols, utilizing the PeduliLindungi COVID-19 application, and getting vaccinated quickly.