Indonesia Reports First Local Transmission of Omicron... Infections Rise to 47

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The first community transmission case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant has been reported in Jakarta, Indonesia.

On the 28th, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, Director of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control at the Indonesian Ministry of Health, stated in a virtual press conference, "We have confirmed the first community spread of the Omicron variant and are currently tracing close contacts."

Accordingly, since the first confirmed case of a janitor at the Kemayoran COVID-19 emergency hospital in Jakarta on the 16th, the total number of Omicron infections has risen to 47.

According to the Ministry of Health, a 36-year-old man from Medan, Sumatra Island, who visited Jakarta on the 6th, tested positive for COVID-19 before returning to Medan on the 19th. Genetic sequencing of the sample confirmed on the 26th that he was infected with the Omicron variant.

The Ministry of Health reported that he is an asymptomatic carrier and has no recent history of overseas travel or contact with anyone who entered the country from abroad.

The man was found to have dined at a restaurant in the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) in downtown Jakarta on the 17th, and contact tracing and testing are underway for visitors present at the same time.

Indonesia experienced a surge of over 50,000 daily cases due to the spread of the Delta variant in June and July this year. Since November, daily confirmed cases have remained below 500, recently fluctuating around 100 to 200. On the previous day, 120 new cases were added, bringing the total to approximately 4,261,000, with 8 new deaths, totaling 144,063 fatalities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.