COVID-19 Spike Caused by New Variants

The recent Covid-19 spike in several regions has been triggered by new virus variants that first emerged in other countries. The micro-scale public activity restrictions needs to be tightened to overcome the situation.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Ambulances pick up residents from their homes to undergo isolation at Jalan Pemuda, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Sunday (6/6/2021). In the first week of June 2021, there were 414 Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Kudus and Semarang City.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – New and more contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, are the culprit behind the surge in cases across a number of regions in the country, such as Kudus, Central Java and Jakarta. The variants dominating recent cases are the B.1.617.2 or Delta variant, which was first detected in India, and the B.1.1.7 or Alpha variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom.

The Health Ministry’s infectious diseases Prevention and Control director, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that of the 34 samples from Kudus that were tested using whole genome sequencing (WGS), the presence of the Delta variant had been confirmed in 28 samples.

“The test was carried out at the Gadjah Mada University [UGM] laboratory,” Nadia said in Jakarta on Sunday (13/6/2021).

According to the test results that Ova Emilia, the dean of the university’s medicine, public health and nursing schools, had submitted to the Health Ministry, the Kudus samples were received on 5 June 2021 and tested on 7 June.

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Meanwhile, the latest available genomic tests in Jakarta also detected the presence of the Alpha variant, in addition to the Delta variant.

“In Jakarta, 24 samples containing the Alpha variant and 19 samples of the Delta variant were found,” said Nadia.

According to a report the Genomik Solidaritas Indonesia (GSI) Lab submitted to the Health Ministry, the facility tested 34 samples from a laboratory in Salatiga on June 11 and found that all samples had tested positive for the Delta variant.

In Jakarta, 24 samples containing the Alpha variant and 19 samples of the Delta variant were found.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

One of the young people was injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine during a mass vaccination at the Kramat Jati District Health Center, East Jakarta, Sunday (13/6/2021).

Variant charactericteristics

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 May 2021 declared the Delta variant a “variant of concern” (VOC) alongside the Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants. The designation means that these variants could be more infectious or cause more severe disease, weaken treatment efficacy, evade immune responses or cannot be diagnosed with standard tests.

Public Health England (PHE) announced on 7 May 2021 that the Delta variant spread about as quickly as the Alpha variant. Meanwhile, a PHE report dated June 4 said that the Delta variant carried a higher risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha and other variants. An analysis of 38,805 cases in the UK showed that the Delta variant carried a heightened risk of hospitalization within 14 days that was 2.61 times that of the Alpha variant.

Epidemiologist Pandu Riono from the University of Indonesia’s School of Public Health estimated that the surge in Covid-19 cases in Indonesia would exceed the surge this January.

“This is a consequence of our failure to [control] transmission,” said Pandu.

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Separately, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo forward an image file to Kompas revealing that the Delta variant had been detected in 62 out of 72 samples (86.11 percent) from Kudus.

“Remember that the new variant has entered Kudus. This is why the transmission is so fast,” said Ganjar. “The public must be aware. I suggest elderly residents and children to stay at home for five days if necessary. Do not leave the house. Only leave the house if you really must.”

The governor added that the detection of the Delta variant in Kudus necessitated improvements to the 3T protocol of testing, tracing and treatment as well as the 5M health protocol of wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining distance, avoiding crowds and reducing mobility.

“We must also prepare additional beds at ICUs [intensive care units], hospitals and centralized isolation facilities,” he said.

Ganjar also called for stricter enforcement of the PPKM. Daily Covid-19 cases in Kudus have spiked over the past three weeks, with 3,994 new cases since 23 May 2021.

According to updated data as of Saturday (12/6) from the Kudus administration, the regency has recorded a total of 10,525 confirmed cases. Of these, 2,342 are active cases either receiving treatment or in isolation, 7,322 have recovered and 861 have died.

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo (left) inspects residents who register to be vaccinated at the Gradhika Vaccination Center, Central Java Governor\'s Office complex, in Semarang City, Wednesday (9/6/2021).

Health protocols

The past week has also seen a spike in Covid-19 cases in Bangkalan, East Java. The regency has recorded 490 Covid-19 patients over the past eight days, of whom 43 have died from the disease. The daily tally saw an average increase of 61 to 62 patients and 5 to 6 deaths.

Bangkalan resident Mochamad Irfan, 45, said he had observed that the residents of Arosbaya district tended to ignore the health protocols, particularly the mask-wearing protocol.

“It is still considered strange to wear a mask, even if you know it’s for your own health,” Irfan said on Saturday, at the mandatory antigen testing program held at Suramadu Bridge.

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Airlangga University epidemiologist Windhu Purnomo said the East Java and the Bangkalan administrations immediately needed to take firm action, in addition to the PPKM.

The PPKM policy has been deemed ineffective, as it relies on the vigilance of local task forces at the neighborhood unit (RT), community unit (RW), village and subdistrict levels.

Hospitalization

The spike in Covid-19 cases following the Idul Fitri holiday season has significantly increased hospital occupancy rates, and hospitals have been asked to increase their bed capacity for Covid-19 patients from 20 percent to 40 percent.

Covid-19 referral hospitals in West Java averaged 68 percent bed occupancy on Sunday (13/6), a dramatic increase compared to 29 percent on the eve of Idul Fitri, which fell on 12 May.

Data from the West Java Covid-19 Information and Coordination Center showed that six regions had recorded bed occupancy rates of above 80 percent, namely Purwakarta with 92.33 percent, Tasikmalaya (92.31 percent), Bandung regency (88.02 percent), West Bandung (84.62 percent), Bandung municipality (84.56 percent) and Karawang (81.75 percent). (AIK/BRO/ETA/TAM/DIT/RTG)

This article was translated by Camilia Adianti.