Statement of President of the Republic of Indonesia on Development of COVID-19, Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province, January 28, 2022

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are currently facing the surge in daily COVID-19 cases, especially the Omicron variant, and the surge is estimated to increase in the following weeks.

Learning from the surge of the Omicron variant cases in various countries, the Government has made adequate preparations to deal with it.

Various health facilities and infrastructure are improving their services to adapt to the characteristics of this variant, which is different from the previous variants and requires different handling. One of them is through telemedicine services.

Not all cases of Omicron COVID-19 require direct services as the symptoms are not dangerous. The most important thing is to minimize contact as this will prevent a wider spread.

When your PCR test results are positive but show no symptom, do self-isolation at home for five days. If there are symptoms such as cough, runny nose, or fever, you can use telemedicine services or visit the nearest health center or doctor as this will reduce the burden on health facilities.

Thus, the burden of health facilities from the community health centers (puskesmas) to the hospital can be reduced. This is important so that our health facilities can focus more on treating patients with severe symptoms, as well as patients with other illnesses who require intensive care.

Lastly, I call on you to stay calm but not panic. Always follow the health protocols, reduce unnecessary activities. Let me also remind you to take care of your own health as well as possible to increase immunity.

May God always protect us.

Amin ya rabbal ‘alamin.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(EST/EP)