COVID-19 Updates: Omicron Patient from Medan Lives in a Apartment at North Jakarta

JAKARTADAILY.ID --- The first COVID-19 patient with the Omicron variant from a local source of transmission was reported stay in an apartment at the North Jakarta Area, the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. The patient is now being treated at the Sulianti Saroso Infection Center Hospital (RSPI) to maximize the search for the Omicron variant he has and suppress the possibility of a wider spread.

Spokesperson for Covid-19 Vaccination of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that the process of evacuating patients from their residence in North Jakarta to RSPI Sulianti Saroso had been carried out by joint officers, which are the DKI Jakarta Health Service, Polres and local Koramil.

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“In North Jakarta, the apartment. Initially, he refused to be evacuated to the RSPI. However, the DKI Health Office has succeeded in explaining that he should cooperate, because it is very important in overcoming this problem. In the end, he agreed, even though during the pick-up the Puskesmas officers were assisted by the Resort Police and the Koramil, who refused to be evacuated. Now we are cooperative and re-swab," said Nadia in a Virtual Press Conference, Tuesday (28 December 2021).

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To find out the potential for the spread of the virus in the case of local transmission, the government immediately carried out tracing. The speed and accuracy of tracing is very much needed because the person concerned does a lot of activities while living in Jakarta.

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The patient arrived with his wife from Medan in Jakarta on December 6, 2021. Then, with the intention of returning to Medan, on December 19, 2021, the husband and wife took an antigen test, and were found to be positive for Covid-19. The next day, they did a PCR Test. It wasn't until December 26, 2021, that one of the pair was found to have tested positive for Omicron.

"We have to see 14 days before the patient is tested positive, which is 14 days before December 19, 2021. Tracing is carried out to find anyone who has close contact with the patient, including in restaurants in the SCBD area, in the apartment where the patient lives, and other activities while the patient is in Jakarta, "said Nadia. (*)