Jakarta – Indonesia has recorded more than 1,000 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant since the first cases were confirmed in mid-December, according to government data released on Friday.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said there have been a total of 1,078 Omicron cases as of Friday, as opposed to 882 cases a day earlier.

The overall number includes 257 locally-transmitted cases, she said.

The majority of Omicron cases are related to international travels, involving 128 arrivals from Saudi Arabia, 109 from Turkey, 81 from the United States, 66 from Malaysia, and 54 from the United Arab Emirates.

"Omicron patients with mild symptoms or none at all can self-isolate at homes as long as they follow directives from the Covid-19 Task Force," Siti said.

The announcement came a day after the country recorded 2,116 new Covid-19 cases in a single day. The last time the daily tally exceeded the 2,000 mark was on September 28 of last year.

Covid-19 Task Force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito said newly Covid-19 cases have seen a fivefold increase in the past three weeks. The good news is that a spike in new cases didn't result in a surge in the death toll.

The daily Covid-19 death toll has stayed within the single-digit territory since the start of the month.

Southeast Asia's biggest country has recorded 4.27 million Covid-19 cases and 144,199 deaths since the pandemic began. The total number of active cases has now passed the 10,000 mark amid an uptick in new cases.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesias-omicron-tally-tops-100