VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Thursday asked the people to stay calm after the first Omicron infection was reported in Indonesia.

"It is important to be vigilant, but do not panic," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin had announced that the first case of the new coronavirus variant had been detected in Indonesia.

The first person to be infected by the new variant was a janitor working at Wisma Atlet, he informed. The case was detected after three workers at the location were found positive for COVID-19, he said.

"So far, the Omicron variant has not shown severe symptoms, especially in patients who have been vaccinated," Jokowi said.

He also asked the public to immediately get vaccinated to protect themselves.

"Therefore, I ask people who have not received the vaccination to immediately get it at health facilities," he emphasized.

In addition, the head of state expressed the hope that the public will continue to implement strict health protocols.

"Although the situation in the country is approaching normal, please keep wearing masks, keep your distance, and wash your hands," he reiterated.

The President also asked local governments to intensify testing and tracing of close contacts to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Earlier, Minister Sadikin had said that three workers at Wisma Atlet were confirmed positive for COVID-19 on December 8, 2021. On December 10, 2021, whole-genome sequencing testing was carried out and the result on December 15, 2021, showed the presence of the Omicron variant in one of the three samples, he informed.

The minister said the worker with the Omicron infection showed no symptoms.

Additionally, five cases of possible Omicron infection were also detected, Sadikin said. Two of the suspected patients are currently quarantined at Wisma Atlet, he informed. They are Indonesian citizens who recently returned from the United States and the United Kingdom, he said.

The other three suspected patients are foreign nationals from China who visited Manado, the minister said. They are currently undergoing quarantine in Manado, North Sulawesi, he added.

Meanwhile, data from Health Ministry at 6 p.m. local time on Thursday showed more than 149 million people, or 71.64 percent of the targeted recipients had received their first vaccine dose, while more than 105 million people, or 50.53 percent of the target had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Meanwhile. 1,263,846 people had received the booster vaccine. The government is targeting to vaccinate 208,265,720 people in Indonesia in an effort to build herd immunity.  (Antaranews)