As Indonesia records its first community transmissions of Omicron, official responses to any discovery of the variant have been carried out with great zeal, to say the least. This includes a case in Bali, in which nearly a dozen hotel staff were tested and placed in isolation after being suspected of having direct contact with two Omicron patients.

Officials say two tourists from Surabaya – with no known recent international travel history – traveled by land (and ferry) to Bali and stayed at a hotel in Nusa Dua from December 20 to 25. They tested positive for COVID-19 and the Omicron variant upon their return to the capital of East Java.

The Bali COVID-19 task force responded quickly to perform PCR testing and isolated 11 hotel staff for five days who came into direct contact with patients in Surabaya. A Russian hotel guest who interacted with staff was also tested.

“The swab test results of everyone who has come in close contact with Surabaya Omicron patients are negative,” Bali COVID-19 task force secretary I Made Rentin said this morning.

All employees will undergo another round of PCR testing upon release from quarantine.

Related – Mandatory quarantine now exceeds 10 days as Indonesia makes flip flops

Indonesia officially registered 152 Omicron cases on Monday, the majority of which are imported cases. None of the known Omicron patients experienced severe symptoms.