Indonesia Verifies 10 Covid Cases of India Alternative

A lady undergoes swab test for coronavirus at GSI Laboratory in Cilandak, South Jakarta on Feb. 23,2021 (JG Photo/Yudha Baskoro)

Jakarta. Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin verified on Monday a minimum of 10 individuals have tested favorable for a new variant of Covid-19 which was very first discovered in India.

The news came two days after the government prohibited foreign visitors from India for coronavirus worries.

” This variant of the infection has gone into Indonesia with a minimum of 10 individuals verified to have it,” Budi stated in a press conference at the State Palace in Central Jakarta.

The variant– officially called B. 1.617– is blamed for a remarkable surge in newly cases in India where more than 340,000 brand-new cases were reported in a single day at its peak.

It was first spotted in October last year. According to the coronavirus international information sharing company GISAID, the variant has actually spread in more than 20 nations.

Budi said that of the 10 contaminated individuals, 6 have actually contracted the version in foreign nations but he didn’t go into details.

The staying four cases were in your area sent in Sumatra, West Java and South Kalimantan, he added.

The government previously enforced travel ban on travel from India upon reports that 12 of 129 guests on a chartered plane arriving from the country have actually evaluated favorable for Covid-19

The airplane brought 116 Indian citizens, an American and 12 Indonesians, but the citizenships of the contaminated persons were not disclosed.

Budi said at the time health authorities utilized whole genome sequencing to figure out the variant of the infection contaminating those 12 guests.

The entry ban applies to all foreign visitors who have travel history to India in the last 14 days.





Indonesian returnees are directed to go through one of 7 main entry gates consisting of Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Juanda Airport in Surabaya, Kualanamu Airport in Medan, Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, Batam Centre Port on Batam Island, Sri Bintan Pura Port in Tanjung Pinang and Dumai Port.

” Indonesian citizens returning from India needs to spend 14 days in quarantine,” Budi said.