The inclusion of the Omicron variant which is more contagious than the Delta variant raises its own concerns for Indonesia. An agency in the United States made an even more worrying prediction.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent institution at Washington University, predicts a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases at the end of January 2022. The number could continue to increase to reach 387,000 cases per day in April 2022.
Even with the booster or third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the number of cases is estimated to still reach 289,000 cases per day in April 2022. With the addition of masks by 80 percent of the population, the figure will only decrease to 266,000 cases.
Although it is predicted that there will be an increase in COVID-19 cases, hospital occupancy is not expected to experience an explosion. The highest was at 700 Omicron patients in April, when COVID-19 cases crossed the 300 thousand mark.
This condition is much different from when IHME predicted a Delta variant attack in July 2021. At that time, the need for hospital rooms was estimated at 72 thousand beds and ICU at 15 thousand.
Spokesperson for the COVID-19 vaccination of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, when contacted by detik.com, explained that so far there has never been a truly correct prediction. However, he warned that the threat of Omicron could make the COVID-19 trend jump again.
“The Omicron variant could be due to the doubling time and fast transmission,” said Dr. Nadia when contacted by AFP on Tuesday (5/1/2022).
Therefore, Dr. Nadia reminded to always comply with health protocols. For those who have not been vaccinated, he appealed to immediately vaccinate.
Watch Videos “Listen! 7 Early Symptoms of Exposure to Variant Omicron“
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