Indonesian health authorities are conducting contact tracing after detecting the Southeast Asian country's first case of the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant in the community, Reuters reports.

The first confirmed case was a 37-year-old male who was from the city of Medan and had visited a restaurant in Jakarta's central business district earlier this month, health ministry official Siti Nadia Tarmizi told a news conference.

The man had no recent history of overseas travel or contacts with international travellers, Tarmizi said, adding he was asymptomatic and was in isolation at a Jakarta hospital after he had initially been isolated at home.

A healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment takes a swab sample to test for the coronavirus at a drive-through testing site in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 16. — Reuters
A healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment takes a swab sample to test for the coronavirus at a drive-through testing site in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 16. — Reuters

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