M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – A government spokesman for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, explained why Omicron cases in Indonesia continued to surge up to 200 percent compared to the onset of the pandemic while global cases have begun to decline by 60 percent.

Wiku said this contradictory situation occurred because Indonesia imposed a quarantine policy, as well as entry and exit tests for travelers since the beginning of the case spike. "Indonesia has succeeded in delaying the importation of cases longer than other countries," he said in a statement, Friday, Feb. 18.

According to Wiku, several countries that have managed to pass the peak of cases and drop virus transmission include the United States, Canada, and Australia. Meanwhile, Asia countries that have experienced a surge in cases besides Indonesia are Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong. "While Japan and the Philippines have experienced a decline in cases," he added.

Indonesia still sees a surge in COVID-19 cases to date. Yesterday, the Health Ministry recorded 63,956 new cases, 39,072 recoveries, and 206 deaths. The total death toll reached 145,828, while the total recoveries amounted to 4,414,306.

Based on this data, West Java contributed the highest daily cases with 16,251 cases, followed by East Java with 8,977 cases and Jakarta with 8,536 cases.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan earlier claimed that Jakarta had passed the peak of the Omicron wave a few days ago and would see a declining number of cases.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1562142/omicron-cases-continue-to-surge-covid-19-task-force-explain