Maria Fatima Bona, Jakarta – All 46 patients testing positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant have shown mild symptoms that didn't require them to undergo special medical treatment, a Health Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

The fact that all but one patient have been fully vaccinated may contribute to better protection from more severe symptoms.

"Their common symptom is cough and only one of them has not been vaccinated against Covid-19," Siti Nadia Tarmizi said.

She earlier said that most of the patients are Indonesian migrant workers returning from Malaysia, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malawi, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Turkey.

One of the Omicron patients has been allowed to leave the government quarantine facility due to overlapping test results, Health Minister Budi Sadikin Gunadi said separately.

The patient, a woman returning from the United Kingdom, tested positive for Covid-19 but she demanded another test whose results came back negative.

She was then allowed to self-isolate at her home despite the mandatory 10-day quarantine for travelers arriving from international trips.

But authorities were in shock five days later when results from the whole genome sequence analysis indicated that the woman had Omicron, Budi said.

"We came to her residence and conducted tests on the entire family members. Fortunately, all of them have been free from the virus," the minister said.

He said the incident prompted health authorities to introduce a new policy: a third test is required when two previous tests delivered conflicting results.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/all-46-omicron-patients-display-mild-symptoms-health-ministr