Confirmed case varian Omicron B.1.1.529 was first reported in South Africa and has spread to several countries. According to an epidemiologist at Australia’s Griffith University, Dicky Budiman, it is very possible that the Omicron variant has entered Indonesia and a number of other Asian countries.
Previously, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, Budi Gunadi, emphasized that: varian Omicron have not entered Indonesia. However, because genomic surveillance in Indonesia is still relatively low, which is below one percent, this actually strengthens the suspicion that this variant has entered.
“The possibility that this variant already exists or has been detected at least 1, 2, 3 (cases) is, of course there is, because first, if you talk about when a variant is found, it doesn’t mean that on that day it really just appeared, it’s not like that,” he explained. Dicky when contacted by detikcom, Tuesday (30/11/2021).
According to Dicky, most likely the Omicron variant had already spread two to three weeks earlier. So, it adds to the potential that this variant has spread to many countries, including Indonesia.
Loose quarantine rules
One of the things that Dicky highlighted was the quarantine period in Indonesia which was relaxed when the trend of COVID-19 cases declined, which was three to five days. Although it was recently tightened again to 7 days as of November 29, 2021, since the circular was issued.
Low genomic surveillance
Genomic surveillance is an effort to track the corona virus genome so that it can be useful in preventing its spread. Until now, the level of genomic surveillance in Indonesia is still low, which means that the ability to detect the presence of Omicron variants is also relatively low.
“And then also we must also realize that our genomic surveillance is also relatively weak, with 0.02 percent of the total cases being sequenced,” said Dicky.
Closing the entrance for confirmed countries of the Omicron variant
As of November 29, 2021, the government has temporarily closed the entry of Foreign Citizens (WNA) from countries that have confirmed varian Omicron such as South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, and countries that are geographically close to those countries.
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