The Indonesian government has continued to expand testing, tracing, treatment (3T) to deal with asymptomatic Omicron patients, government spokesperson for COVID-19, Reisa Broto Asmoro, has affirmed.

“We have to be careful. Cases (of COVID-19) have increased, and the Omicron variant has already infected many people,” she remarked at an online event accessed here on Monday.

Asmoro noted that expanding the 3Ts, especially tracing, is continuing to be carried out because many people are contracting the Omicron variant without experiencing any symptoms, which results in their not getting tested.

Meanwhile, to trace people who have contracted the virus, the government is intensifying tracing of the close contacts and people around the patient, especially in Java and Bali areas, she informed.

“Thus, the ratio of tracing must be increased if a person has been confirmed of contracting COVID-19 no matter what the variant is,” she said.

The spokesperson explained that in order to provide treatment, the government has ensured medicines and medical oxygen availability to meet the community’s needs.

In accordance with the Circular of the Health Minister Number HK.02.01/Menkes/18/2022 regarding the prevention and control of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the government has also categorized Omicron patients according to the severity of symptoms.

Patients with moderate to severe symptoms are being treated at hospitals, Asmoro informed. Those with mild symptoms or who are asymptomatic are being allowed to self-isolate or isolate at isolation centers, she said.

She affirmed that the government has continued to ensure the availability of rooms at isolation centers and has increased the bed ratio for COVID-19 patients while intensifying access to telemedicine.

In addition, the spokesperson also called for the acceleration of COVID-19 vaccinations to stem Omicron transmission in the community.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of January 24, 2022, at least 4,289,305 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country, while 4,124,211 people have recovered and 144,227 people have succumbed to the virus.

Source: Antara News