Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Health Ministry's COVID-19 vaccination spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi has urged people to follow the health protocols strictly at all times, and not take off masks, even to take a photograph.
"Taking your mask off for a photo session even if it only lasts for one minute is also dangerous for virus transmission," she cautioned at an online seminar on Saturday.
Tarmizi also urged people to frequently wash hands, maintain social distance, avoid crowds, and reduce mobility to prevent COVID-19 and help reduce daily cases.
A number of reasons contributed to the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in June this year, including high mobility and neglect of health protocols, she said. People neglected to maintain a one-meter distance while participating in activities such as meetings, they ate in restaurants in groups, and crowding was seen in weddings with no restrictions on the number of guests, she elaborated.
Unlike the Alpha variant that caused infections last year, the new Delta variant is more contagious, with a 60-percent higher risk of transmission, she said. The Alpha variant, or the original virus, was first reported in Wuhan, China, she added.
The appearance of the Delta variant has also increased the number of cases requiring treatment and reduced the effectiveness of the vaccine, Tarmizi noted. However, currently available vaccines are still effective against viruses, including the Delta variant, she stressed.
"The Delta variant also spreads more quickly among school children. The CT (cycle threshold) value for positive cases is lower than the previous virus -- around 16 or 20, whereas previously it was 25, 30, 32," said Tarmizi.
The emergence of this new variant of SARS-CoV-2 results from an increase in the number of infections in a population, which then raises the incidence of viral mutations, she informed.
"The Delta variant showed up because there were so many infection cases in India. It eventually caused new variants or viruses that are different from the original virus," Tarmizi remarked.
She also cautioned that if more variants appear, there will be more virus mutations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States, has cited two different studies from Canada and Scotland which have shown that patients infected with the Delta variant are more likely to be hospitalized than patients infected with Alpha or the original strain of the virus, she added.
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