Minister of Health: Five people died due to Omicron in Indonesia

Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that five people had died from the Omicron variant in Indonesia.

“There have been five people who have died positive for Omicron, 60 percent of which have not been fully vaccinated,” said Minister of Health Budi at a press conference that was attended online in Jakarta, Monday.

He added, Omicron cases in Indonesia with moderate, severe symptoms and require oxygen, 63 percent of them have not been fully vaccinated.

“Most of them are elderly, and we identified a surprising number of children,” he said.

Based on this fact, the Minister of Health said, the most important thing at this time was to accelerate vaccination, especially for the elderly and children.

“Protect them, it is our obligation to protect people who have not been vaccinated so that they are immediately vaccinated, especially the elderly and children. Please prioritize giving vaccinations to those who have not received vaccinations, especially the elderly and children,” he said.

Previously, Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, urged people with symptoms to immediately be tested for COVID-19 because the Omicron variant generally has mild symptoms but is still at serious risk and even triggers death.

“Although the symptoms shown are generally mild, the risk for serious illness and even death is still there,” said Nadia Tarmizi.

The statement answered the behavioral tendency of people who are symptomatic but are reluctant to carry out tests at health service facilities. The situation was triggered by the attitude of the people who still took the Omicron symptom lightly.

The Ministry of Health reported that the rate of testing for COVID-19 through the antigen test method and the rapid PCR test in the past week was less than 2.54 percent per week. In fact, in the period of July 2021, Indonesia recorded the highest test record in a number of provinces, an average of 50-90 percent.

Nadia said the target for COVID-19 tests per day at the population level in Indonesia reached 324,000 people. (ojn/bbs)