Gov’t Gears Up for Optimizing Telemedicine Services Amid Spike in Omicron Cases

By Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation     Date 12 Januari 2022
Category: News
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Telemedicine Kemenkes

source: kemkes.go.id

Ministry of Health has unveiled plan to boost telemedicine services for self-isolating patients as the number of confirmed Omicron cases in Indonesia continues to increase.

As of Monday (01/10), the number of confirmed cases has increased by 92, totaling to 506 Omicron cases.

According to the Ministry’s COVID-19 Vaccination Spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi, based on the observation of the severity, the bulk of Omicron cases do not show symptoms or show only mild symptoms hence the patients do not require serious treatment at hospitals.

“We are collaborating with seventeen telemedicine platforms to provide free doctor consultations and medicine delivery for self-isolating COVID-19 patients so treatments for patients can be given as wide and as effective as possible,” Nadia said as quoted from the website of Ministry of Health (01/12).

Nadia also pointed out that Ministry of Health will include the use of Monulpiravir and Plaxlovid for the medication of COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, adding that the Ministry will also increase tracing for more than 30 contacts per positive case and conduct whole genome sequencing (WGS) at the community level with a target of 1,700 to 2,000 each month.

The Government, she added, will also begin administering COVID-19 vaccine booster jabs for people aged 18 years and above in a  bid to strengthen immunity against COVID-19, including the new Omicron variant.

Nadia also further said that the majority of confirmed Omicron patients are international travelers, adding that out of 506 confirmed cases, only 84 were locally transmitted.

In addition to the number of confirmed cases, the number of probable Omicron cases also continues to rise and 1,384 probable Omicron cases with S Gene Target Failure (SGTF) have been detected as of Monday (01/10), she added.

“If we pay attention, there has also been spike in the number of daily cases, which almost doubled from 454 to 802,” she said, while warning of the potential spike in cases given that Omicron has a rapid transmission rate.

“In light of the development, the number of confirmed Omicron cases tends to increase. Based on SGTF tests, the number of probable Omicron infections in international travelers tends to increase. WGS results also show Omicron variant proportion that has started to be dominant,” she remarked. (PR of Ministry of Health/UN) (DH/EP)

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