Indonesia Reports 8 Cases of XBB Covid Variant

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Ministry of Health reported that the case count of the Covid-19 sub-variant Omicron in Indonesia has increased to eight.

“As of Thursday [Oct. 27], there were four cases: two from overseas travel and two from local [transmission]. However, yesterday, there were four additional cases. So, as of Sunday [Oct. 30], we have eight cases of XBB in Indonesia,” a spokesperson from the Ministry of Health Mohammad Syahril said in a broadcast message on Monday, Oct. 31.

According to the ministry’s data, as of Sunday, the eight cases include five cases from Jakarta and one case from Lampung, Kalimantan, and Bali, respectively.

Of the eight cases, two were found in people with a history of traveling abroad, while the other six contracted the virus from the local transmission.

Syahril said that although eight cases of XBB had been recorded, the community should not harbor concerns about the sub-variant. From 24 countries that had reported XBB transmission, no country had reported death or high hospital bed occupancy rate (BOR) caused by XBB.

He said that viruses naturally continue to mutate to live.

Also read: Indonesia Detects New XBB Covid Variant: Health Minister

Hence, he called on all parties to not be neglectful and not allow viruses to cause fatalities in Indonesia.

He expressed optimism that all parties would understand that one of the requirements to enter the endemic phase is maintaining health protocols and getting vaccinated as a form of protection.

The Ministry of Health will also continue to monitor the development of all mutations in the country.

Indonesia confirmed the first two cases of Covid-19 in March 2020. According to data from the Covid-19 Handling Task Force, as of Oct. 31, 2022, the nation has recorded 6,493,079 cases, 6,309,790 recoveries, and 158,631 deaths.

Source: State News Antara