Indonesia's COVID-19 Cases Rise, 1 Patient Dies

The Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) reports a rise in Covid-19 cases in Indonesia over the past two months.

Erlina Burhan, Head of the Covid-19 Task Force and IDI Executive Board member, stated that the national number of Covid-19 cases increased from 65 cases between October 2nd and 8th, 2023, to 151 cases between November 20th and 26th, 2023.

Erlina also mentioned one Covid-19 death at the end of November 2023.

However, Erlina stated that the national situation regarding Covid-19 hospitalizations remains relatively low.

She cited the example of Soetomo Surabaya Regional General Hospital, which treated only two Covid-19 patients throughout October and November 2023.

Meanwhile, in West Java, hospital bed occupancy remained below 3% between September and November 2023.

Erlina said that several new variants of the Covid-19 virus are currently circulating, namely BA.2.86, EG.5, and HK.3. However, she noted that these Omicron subvariants have mild symptoms.

"These variants share common Covid-19 symptoms, tending to be similar across various variants: high fever, cough, rhinorrhea (runny nose), and loss of smell and taste," said Erlina, as reported by Katadata on Thursday, December 7th, 2023.

She explained that the severity of symptoms depends on a person's immunity, particularly among the elderly.

Individuals with comorbidities such as uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, hypertension, kidney disorders, and those with immunocompromised conditions like HIV, autoimmune diseases, and cancer are at greater risk if infected with Covid-19.

Erlina urged the public to reinstate health protocols, such as wearing masks and avoiding crowds.

"Looking at the situation and surge in cases in Singapore and Malaysia, and even in Indonesia, we from the IDI Executive Board urge everyone to start wearing masks again if they experience symptoms like coughing, runny nose, or sneezing," she said.

Erlina also advised the public to adopt a healthy lifestyle, eat a balanced diet, wash their hands with running water, wear masks in crowded places and during travel, and limit time spent in enclosed spaces.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, new Covid-19 variant cases globally surged between October 23rd and November 19th, 2023.

Erlina stated that 104 countries reported an increase in cases, and 43 countries reported deaths.

In Singapore, there were 22,000 cases of the Omicron variants EG.5 and HK.3. These cases accounted for 70% of the total cases in October-November 2023. She mentioned that the Omicron variant also evolved in Singapore into the BA.2.86 variant, which has low infectivity.

Malaysia also experienced a rise in Covid-19 cases, from 927 cases between October 2nd and 8th, 2023, to almost 4,000 cases between November 20th and 26th, 2023.

According to Erlina, the surge in Covid-19 cases in Malaysia and Singapore is due to increased travel for holidays and declining antibody levels.

"Theoretically, a decrease in antibodies occurs after 6 or 12 months," said Erlina.