Philippines, Indonesia take steps in response to Omicron variant
The Philippine House of Representatives has gone into lockdown to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus while Indonesia has reportedly prepared 120,000 hospital beds to cope with outbreaks caused by this new variant.
A girl gets vaccinated against COVID-19 in Marikina city, the Philippines, on November 29, 2021 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippine House of Representatives hasgone into lockdown to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronaviruswhile Indonesia has reportedly prepared 120,000 hospital beds to cope withoutbreaks caused by this new variant.
SecretaryGeneral of the Philippine House of Representatives Mark Llandro Mendoza said thelower house is currently under lockdown to prevent the spread of the Omicronvariant to ensure the safety of its members, secretariat, and employees.
Meanwhile, headof the upper house Vicente Sotto said there have been no reports aboutinfections with the virus among lawmakers.
Both chambersof the Philippine parliament are scheduled to get back to work on January 17.
The number ofnew COVID-19 cases in this country recently hit a two-month high. After Omicroninfections were reported in the community, the Philippine Department of Health haswarned about a surge in new cases on the coming days.
To date, the Philippines has confirmedover 2.8 million coronavirus cases and more than 50,000 related fatalities,according to the health ministry.
In Indonesia, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin saidthe country has prepared 120,000 hospital beds, along with medical supplies,in anticipation of new outbreaks caused by the Omicron variant.
Talking to the press on January 3, he said Indonesia hasallocated 120,000 or 30 percent of 400,000 beds at hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients.
He noted the Government will also ensure sufficient oxygen supply for hospitals,adding that it has secured 16,000oxygen concentrators equivalent to 800 tonnes of oxygen per day to bedistributed to all hospitals in Indonesia, especially those with difficult accessto oxygen.
In addition, the Indonesian Government has procuredMolnupiravir, a drug that has been proved to be able to reduce the symptoms ofCOVID-19 patients, the official added./.
The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 23 approved emergency use of a COVID-19 antiviral pill for adult patients at risk of developing severe illness, and a COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11.
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The Philippines will remain under Alert Level 2, the second most-relaxed in its five-tier COVID-19 alert level system, until January 15; while Indonesia aims to produce its own vaccine against the corona virus in the second half of 2022.
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A girl gets vaccinated against COVID-19 in Marikina city, the Philippines, on November 29, 2021 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) 
