Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has urged regional governments to raise awareness and increase vigilance to deal with the emergence of the Omicron or B.1.1.529 variant of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

“We must be alert, alright. Right from the start, we have warned that we should not be like other countries, Europe, even India, as well as Singapore; we have barred everything, do not let (the variant) enter this country. Well, this means it’s here already,” Amin said in Surabaya, East Java on Thursday.

He asked all regional governments to immediately take anticipatory measures so that the variant does not spread to people throughout any region.

Amin also called for the acceleration of vaccinations for all people living in the regions.

“All regional governments must make preparations for preventive measures. Do not let it penetrate the regions. Anticipate. We don’t want this to be like Delta (variant transmission) again. Vaccination must be continued immediately, hastened for the community,” he said.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin earlier informed that one case of the Omicron variant and five probable cases were detected at a quarantine facility at the Kemayoran Athlete’s Village Emergency Hospital in Jakarta.

“We have confirmed one and five probable cases of Omicron, which occurred in quarantine,” the minister said.

A janitor at the hospital, who did not have any history of overseas travel, was detected with the Omicron variant, he informed.

Meanwhile, the suspected cases include two Indonesian citizens who recently returned from the United States and Britain and three foreigners from China who visited Manado, North Sulawesi, he added.

Source: Antara News