malaysiangJAKARTA, Dec 28 — The Indonesian health ministry has detected the first case of locally transmitted COVID-19 Omicron variant in a 37-year-old man from the city of Medan.
The man and his wife, who visit Jakarta once a month, arrived the capital city on Dec 6 and had visited the Ashta District 8 Mall in Sudirman Central Business District, South Jakarta on Dec 17.
As a result, the ministry is conducting thorough contact tracing in the area to stop the variant from spreading, said the ministry spokesperson Dr Siti Nadia Tarmidzi.
Speaking at the virtual press conference, she said the man with no overseas travel history and asymptomatic is now in isolation at a hospital.
His antigen swab test was found positive on Dec 19, while his wife was negative, she said, adding that the sample was then sent to the GSI Lab, and the result was later found to be Omicron positive on Dec 26.
With this fresh development, Indonesia recorded 47 cases of Omicron, of which 46 cases were imported cases and one local transmission.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
