There’s no known community spread yet of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Indonesia’s Health Ministry said today, as it assures the public that all reported cases involving the mutation have been contained.
The ministry’s spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said today that Indonesia has confirmed eight Omicron cases thus far.
“All Omicron cases in Indonesia originated from abroad (imported cases). This finding shows that all cases were detected [when the patients are] in quarantine, so we can stop [the spread] in quarantine and there has been no outside spread to this day,” she wrote in an official statement.
A janitor at the Wisma Atlet quarantine facility in Jakarta was the first Indonesian to test positive with Omicron last week. The janitor was reportedly asymptomatic and unaware that he was carrying the virus. He has since tested negative for COVID-19.
The three most recent Omicron cases involve three Indonesian migrant workers who returned from abroad — two from the Democratic Republic of Congo and one form Malaysia. All three are reportedly exhibiting mild symptoms, including coughing.
Indonesia tightened its borders amid the global Omicron scare and lengthened mandatory quarantine for international arrivals from three days to 10. The government is mulling extending the period to 14 days depending on Omicron developments in the next couple of weeks.
