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Health Ministry issues warning over COVID-19 surge in Asia
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A health worker prepares a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on June 26, 2021, in Denpasar, Bali. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
T
he Health Ministry has urged health facilities to stay alert and increase surveillance of COVID-19 amid a surge in cases caused by a more transmissible but less deadly Omicron subvariant in several countries across Asia.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin met with President Prabowo Subianto to discuss the rising number of COVID-19 cases across Asia on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said that “cases are indeed increasing, but the rise is caused by variants that are relatively less deadly”.
His statement came after his ministry issued a circular last week to warn health facilities to stay alert after a rising COVID-19 trend in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, largely driven by the more transmissible but less severe Omicron subvariant JN.1.
The circular instructed regional health agencies, hospitals, community health centers (Puskesmas) and other health service facilities across the country to monitor case trends through routine surveillance, report any unusual occurrences and raise public awareness about the need for vigilance.
According to the latest data from the Health Ministry on Tuesday, Indonesia reported seven confirmed cases last week with the positivity rate declining to 2.05 percent from a peak of 3.62 percent the previous week.
Read also: Indonesia on alert as COVID-19 surges across Asia
Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman of Griffith University in Australia said the warning should be taken seriously by the broader public. “This is a good measure as an early warning to create awareness,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
