Tweet
Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se...on-driven-wave
Surge in Covid-19 cases among children in Indonesia during Omicron-driven wave
Linda Yulisman
Indonesia Correspondent
Published 38 Mins Ago
JAKARTA - Indonesia has seen a significant rise in Covid-19 cases among children as the highly transmissible Omicron variant sweeps over the archipelago.
Child infections stood at 70 on Jan 3 before rising to 7,990 on Feb 7. The figure continued to surge to 14,000 by Feb 14 and 21,551 by Feb 21, according to the latest figures from the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI).
The group gathers data every week from paediatricians across the country.
IDAI chairman Piprim Basarah Yanuarso said the number of cases among children in the third wave, largely caused by Omicron, had passed the tally during the peak of the second wave triggered by the Delta variant last July.
"There are many children who are asymptomatic. But will all children be safe and fine? Not really," he said in a recent webinar. "There are children who are asymptomatic and infect others, but there are also children with severe symptoms."
Dr Piprim added: "The number of fatalities is lower than in the past. But if we happen to be the parents or the grandfather of the deceased, the death is not merely numbers. It will become a big disaster if we lose our family members."
From early January to late February, there were 36 fatalities among infected children, who had other conditions such as anaemia, malnutrition and heart diseases, IDAI's data showed. The fatality rate - the number of those tested positive and died - was 0.07 per cent.
Although he did not suggest that the recent deaths were caused by Covid-19 unless a mortality audit is carried out, Dr Piprim noted that the virus could exacerbate the underlying conditions in children. "It's therefore essential that we protect children with co-morbidities amid the pandemic," he told The Straits Times (ST).
Indonesia reported 26,347 new cases and 328 deaths on Friday (March 4). In all, the world's fourth most populous nation recorded 5.7 million infections and 149,596 fatalities...
Surge in Covid-19 cases among children in Indonesia during Omicron-driven wave
Linda Yulisman
Indonesia Correspondent
Published 38 Mins Ago
JAKARTA - Indonesia has seen a significant rise in Covid-19 cases among children as the highly transmissible Omicron variant sweeps over the archipelago.
Child infections stood at 70 on Jan 3 before rising to 7,990 on Feb 7. The figure continued to surge to 14,000 by Feb 14 and 21,551 by Feb 21, according to the latest figures from the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI).
The group gathers data every week from paediatricians across the country.
IDAI chairman Piprim Basarah Yanuarso said the number of cases among children in the third wave, largely caused by Omicron, had passed the tally during the peak of the second wave triggered by the Delta variant last July.
"There are many children who are asymptomatic. But will all children be safe and fine? Not really," he said in a recent webinar. "There are children who are asymptomatic and infect others, but there are also children with severe symptoms."
Dr Piprim added: "The number of fatalities is lower than in the past. But if we happen to be the parents or the grandfather of the deceased, the death is not merely numbers. It will become a big disaster if we lose our family members."
From early January to late February, there were 36 fatalities among infected children, who had other conditions such as anaemia, malnutrition and heart diseases, IDAI's data showed. The fatality rate - the number of those tested positive and died - was 0.07 per cent.
Although he did not suggest that the recent deaths were caused by Covid-19 unless a mortality audit is carried out, Dr Piprim noted that the virus could exacerbate the underlying conditions in children. "It's therefore essential that we protect children with co-morbidities amid the pandemic," he told The Straits Times (ST).
Indonesia reported 26,347 new cases and 328 deaths on Friday (March 4). In all, the world's fourth most populous nation recorded 5.7 million infections and 149,596 fatalities...
Comment