Indonesia reports first two deaths from Omicron Covid-19 variant

Indonesia's Health Ministry confirmed the first two deaths from the Omicron coronavirus variant amid a spike in cases triggered by the more infectious virus.

The Ministry's spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi on Saturday said one case was locally infected in Banten province and the other was an international traveler who passed away in the capital Jakarta, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Both patients have comorbidities," Tarmizi added.

Indonesia has recorded a total of 1,161 cases of the Omicron variant since December 15, 2021, when the Health Ministry detected the first case of the more infectious variant.

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in the Southeast Asian country jumped to 3,205 on Saturday from 772 on Monday.

Authorities have increased bed capacity in hospitals to deal with Covid-19 and intensified access to telemedicine for coronavirus patients with mild and moderate symptoms.

--IANS

int/khz/