Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Health has encouraged the community to strengthen vaccinations, as cases of new COVID-19 variants are still found in Indonesia, a spokesperson said here, Monday (February 27).”Cases of the COVID-19 Kraken variant (Omicron sub-variant) in Indonesia have reached a total of six patients since the first case was found in December 2022,” Head of the Communication and Public Services Bureau SitiNadia Tarmizisaid. The Health Ministry also recorded 53 cases of the Orthrus sub-variant of Omicron, with the first case being found in a sample from Lampung province in October 2022. “Orthrus currently has entered the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) ‘variants under monitoring’ category as one of the lineages of the BA 2.75 variant,” she noted. Despite the findings of Kraken and Orthrus cases in Indonesia, she noted that COVID-19 development in the country is still under control. “COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available are still relevant to prevent severe illness or even (prevent people from) having to be treated in hospital. Please get vaccinated as soon as possible in accordance with the schedule in the PeduliLindungi application,” she said. Tarmizisaid that the symptoms experienced by Kraken patients tend to be mild, with some not experiencing any symptoms, so they only needed to self-isolate at home. She pointed out thatKraken and Orthrus are Omicron’s sub-variants that are suspected of having a faster rate of transmission as compared to the previous variants. “Apart from that, there has not been enough proof that shows the morbidity and mortality from Orthrus is more severe than the previous sub-variants,” she said. The first case of COVID-19 in Indonesia was confirmed in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of February 27, 2023, the nation had recorded 6,735,780 COVID-19 cases, 6,571,457 recoveries, and 160,911 deaths. baca-jugaRelated news: Maintain transition towards endemic with COVID-19 vaccination: govt Related news: One more Kraken case detected, patient had received booster: Ministry

Source: Antara News Agency