JAKARTA - Indonesia has detected the new XBB strain of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the community for the first time, and the authorities are advising people to stick to health protocols, especially wearing masks, and take their booster jabs. 

The first confirmed case caused by the XBB sub-variant was a 29-year-old woman who lives in Surabaya, East Java, with a history of travel to Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Health Ministry spokesman Mohammad Syahril said on Saturday.

The woman showed symptoms, including fever, a runny nose and cough.

“She underwent an examination and tested positive on Sept 26,” the spokesman added. 

The patient was isolated in Surabaya and tested negative for Covid-19 on Oct 3. Ten close contacts were identified by the health authorities and all tested negative.

Dr Syahril noted that the XBB sub-variant caused a spike in the number of Covid-19 infections in Singapore and a rise in hospital admissions.

However, he said that although XBB is highly transmissible, its fatality rate is not greater than other strains of the Omicron variant.

Indonesia reported 2,087 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number to 6.47 million. There were 18 deaths within the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 158,416.

Over the past week, the number of new cases was rising across 24 provinces. 

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Friday that another spike in Covid-19 cases is expected in January to February.

Dr Syahril advised the public to take their booster jabs to reduce the risk of illness and death. 

Only 64.8 million people, or 27.6 per cent of the 234.7 million targeted population, have taken the third shot as at Saturday, according to the Health Ministry.

The confirmed case of the XBB sub-variant comes at a time when a number of people are facing difficulties getting inoculated as vaccination centres impose quotas on the number of jabs given, local media reported. Some centres have even shut temporarily.

The authorities attributed this problem to a shortage of vaccines and said it will be resolved by end-October.   

In response to the detection of the new strain, the authorities have stepped up border controls and checks on arrivals of both Indonesians and foreigners from overseas.

“We are tightening surveillance at our gateways, especially in Batam and Jakarta,” said the Health Ministry’s head of communication and the public service division, Dr Siti Nadia Tarmizi, on Saturday.

She added that all confirmed cases must be examined by whole genome sequencing.