Indonesia predicts peak of Omicron sub-variants in July

Jakarta, June 14 (IANS) The Indonesian government has predicted that peak cases of Covid's Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 in the country will take place in July, based on its experience in dealing with previous waves of transmission, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.

"Supposedly in the second or third week of July we will see the peak of BA.4 and BA.5 cases," Sadikin said at a press conference.

The Southeast Asian country has confirmed eight patients infected with these sub-variants, reports Xinhua news agency.

Three were imported cases and five were local transmissions in Bali and Jakarta.

The government is currently monitoring other patients with these possible sub-variants in Jakarta, West Java, Banten, and Bali.

As of Tuesday morning, Indonesia has reported a total of 6,061,079 Covid-19 cases and 156,652 deaths.