VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A specimen study has shown that the highly-contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has spread almost evenly throughout Indonesia, according to Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination of the Health Ministry.

"The Delta variant dominates 86 percent of the specimen sequencing conducted in the last 60 days in 24 provinces, so it can be said that it has spread almost evenly throughout Indonesia," she said in a statement here on Sunday.

The genomic sequencing laboratory network under the command of the Health Research and Development Agency (Litbangkes) continues to explore the distribution pattern of the COVID-19 variants in Indonesia.

From early 2021 to July 28, Indonesia has reported 3,651 genome sequencing results into a global database. The study results showed that the country should be vigilant against three out of four variants of the coronavirus, namely the Alpha, Beta and Delta variants.

The report deserves an attention, given the potential for transmission of the COVID-19 in Indonesia is still very high, she noted.

To stem the spread of COVID-19, the government is strengthening testing and tracing, especially in densely populated settlements.

The tracing mechanism uses the Silacak software to make it easier to find out the patient's close contacts. Residents who are in close contact will be advised to quarantine themselves.

The government is committed to increasing the volume of testing from around 300 thousand to 500 thousand tests per day.

"We are also accelerating vaccination to increase the body's immunity. Vaccination also reduces the risk of contracting, suffering from serious illness, and even the risk of death of patients infected with COVID-19," she said.

The official reminded the public to always implement health protocols strictly.

The trend of fresh cases remains high with an average of 40 thousand new cases per day and there are no areas sterile from COVID-19.

Moreover, the potential for Delta variant transmission is very high and is one of the factors that increase the mortality rate in the country, she said. (Antaranews)