As we greet 2022, we still have to remain vigilant because the Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet. On December 16, 2021, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced that the Omicron variant had entered Indonesia. As of January 11, 2022, Omicron cases in Jakarta have reached 498 people. Of those numbers, 409 were imported cases, while 89 were local transmission cases. Then, how fast is the transmission of the Omicron variant, and how to anticipate it?
What is the Omicron Variant?
The Omicron variant was first discovered in South Africa. Omicron is known as the Covid-19 variant which spreads more quickly and can cause a spike in cases. As of January 3, 2022, this variant has spread to 132 countries including Botswana, Nigeria, Philippines, South Korea, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom, Kuwait, United States, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
This new variant is a challenge in itself because until now it is not certain whether the Omicron is more dangerous than the previous variant. When compared to the Delta variant, the Omicron is much lighter. If you look at the various cases in a number of countries, this variant tends to infect the young population and the symptoms are not severe. Even so, we need to remain vigilant, because the spread of Omicron mutates three times faster than the Delta variant, making it easier for a wave of Covid-19 cases to occur. This variant can affect anyone, even if they have been vaccinated. In fact, people who are Omicron positive may have no symptoms at all. Not surprisingly, there are 900,000 new cases reported from various countries every day. Then, the next question arises, how to prevent it?
What We Can Do Now?
So far, the prevention that we can do to anticipate a spike in Omicron cases is more or less the same as the prevention of previous variants, such as vaccination. Vaccination is still the most effective way to reduce the rate of spread of the coronavirus. But this step will be much more effective if accompanied by increasing the amount of testing, and applying health protocols (using masks, washing hands, maintaining distance, avoiding crowds, avoiding eating together, and reducing mobility). These steps can be a protection from infected variants of Omicron.
In addition, if you have traveled from outside the city or abroad, do not forget to self-quarantine for 7-10 days. If you come from country that fit this following criteria, then you are required to do self-quarantine for 10 days:
Has confirmed a local transmission of the Omicron variant
Geographically adjacent to country/state with confirmed local transmission of Omicron, and
The number of confirmed cases of Omicron is more than 10,000.
This is done to detect whether there are possible symptoms after traveling, because this variant of Omicron causes mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all. Other efforts that can be done such as limiting meetings that trigger crowds and also maintaining distance when in public spaces. During activities in public spaces or enclosed spaces it is advisable to always use a mask.
In essence, the Omicron variant does not cause severe symptoms or even no symptoms at all. However, we still need to be aware of the speed of Omicron infection compared to other variants. Therefore, let's continue to obey health protocols and get vaccinated as a step to anticipate the spike in Covid-19 cases. In addition, you can also follow the development of Covid-19 cases in Jakarta through the Jakarta Responding Covid-19 section at JAKI or the corona.jakarta.go.id website.
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