Indonesian health authorities said on December 28 that they are conducting contact tracing after the Southeast Asian country detected the first case of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the community.
Health workers collects swab sample for COVID-19 testing in Surabaya, Indonesia (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian health authorities said on December 28 that they are conducting contact tracing after the SoutheastAsian country detected the first case of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 inthe community.
Speaking at a press conference, health ministry officialSiti Nadia Tarmizi said the first confirmed case was a 37-year-old male who was♋from the city of Medan.
The man had no recent history of overseas travel or contact with international travellers, Tarmizi said, adding he was asymptomatic and wasin isolation at a Jakarta hospital. Earlier this month, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urgedpeople to strictly follow health protocols after authorities said that an employee atan hospital which serves as a quarantine site in Jakarta had tested positive for the variant. Health authorities said that there have been 47 confirmedcases of Omicron in Indonesia, mostly imported ones. The Indonesian government has decided to increase the numberof PCR tests for arrivals during mandatory quarantine to three./.
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Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin on December 27 said that the country has set a target to produce special reagents for the S Gene Target Failure (SGTF) test to detect the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
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The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
The World Bank will provide a 2.1 billion USD financing package for Indonesia, focusing oncreating jobs, stimulating economic growth, and enhancing access to clean energy across the country.
Health workers collects swab sample for COVID-19 testing in Surabaya, Indonesia (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
