Govt issues warning as Asian COVID-19 cases surge

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Health Ministry issued a circular to raise awareness about COVID-19 and the risk of other outbreaks following an increase in COVID-19 cases in several countries in Asia.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry's Acting Director General of Disease Control, Murti Utami, reported that COVID-19 cases have increased in several Asian regions, including Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.

"The dominant COVID-19 variants spreading in Thailand are XEC and JN.1, in Singapore LF.7 and NB.1.8 (derivatives of JN.1), in Hong Kong JN.1, and in Malaysia XEC (derivative of JN.1). However, the infection transmission and the death rate are still relatively low," she stated.

As Indonesia enters its 20th week of 2025, COVID-19 cases are currently declining. Weekly confirmed cases have dropped significantly from 28 in the 19th week to just three in the 20th week, resulting in a positivity rate of 0.59 percent. The dominant variant circulating is MB.1.1.

Utami emphasized that health units and stakeholders must take several actions in response to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the Asian region.

These include monitoring developments in the global situation and information related to COVID-19 incidents through official government and WHO channels, as well as increasing early warning by monitoring and verifying trends in ILI/SARI/Pneumonia/COVID-19 cases through routine reporting of the Early Warning and Response System (SKDR).

Efforts also involve promoting a healthy lifestyle and COVID-19 awareness, such as adopting a clean and healthy lifestyle (PHBS) and washing hands with running water and soap or using hand sanitizer.

"Sick people or people in a crowd can use masks. Immediately go to a health facility for any symptoms of respiratory tract infection and have a history of contact with risk factors," she added.

She then stressed the importance of early detection and prompt case response in accordance with established provisions to prevent the outbreak from spreading.