Parliament Urges Government to Swiftly Detect Potential Early Spread of Covid Cicada Variant
A member of the House of Representatives’ Commission IX, Nurhadi, has reminded the government to be vigilant in detecting the potential spread of the new Covid Cicada variant in Indonesia. According to him, the government must not lower its guard even though the Ministry of Health states that Covid Cicada has not yet entered Indonesia.
The concern of Commission IX of the House of Representatives is not merely whether this variant has entered Indonesia or not. Rather, whether our early capacity is strong enough to detect changes from the beginning,” said the NasDem Party politician in his statement on Wednesday, 8 April 2026.
Nurhadi recalled the experience of handling the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which taught that there is only a short gap between global detection time and the virus entering a country. Meanwhile, the government often provides delayed policy responses because the quality of its detection system is not yet adequate.
Amid high international mobility, he assessed that virus spread is still difficult to predict. Therefore, even though it seems safe at the moment, he encouraged the government to prepare and strengthen the detection system through even genomic surveillance, not just concentrated in big cities.
Commission IX of the House of Representatives emphasised that the strength of the health system is not only measured by the ability to respond to major crises, but also by the speed in reading small signals before they turn into major threats.
“Preparedness is far more important than reactive responses after cases increase,” said Nurhadi.
In addition to optimising the early detection system, he also assessed that the government needs to prepare cross-sectoral handling scenarios from the beginning. This can be done while maintaining smooth public communication so that the public does not panic, but also does not underestimate the risk of virus transmission.
The public needs to be taught to maintain health discipline such as wearing masks when ill and receiving vaccines for vulnerable groups. He also views it as important for the state to ensure protection for daily workers and other economic groups that need social assistance when facing the spread of a new Covid-19 variant.
“Do not let delays in reading early signals result in greater health, social, and economic impacts,” he said.
Previously, the Head of Communication and Public Information Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Aji Muhawarman, said that the variant is a derivative of Omicron BA.3 and has been designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Variant Under Monitoring (VUM) since 5 December 2025.
According to him, to date, there is no indication of increased spread or clinical impact from the variant. “It does not show increased circulation, and there is no data showing increased severity, hospitalisation, and death,” he said in a written statement on Thursday, 2 April 2026.
Aji also conveyed that based on WHO information, the public health risk from the BA.3.2 variant is in the low category. Domestically, the Ministry of Health recorded that the currently dominant variant is XFG at 57 percent, followed by LF.7 at 29 percent, and XFG 3.4.3 at 14 percent. These three variants are also said to have low risk.
With the situation still under control, Aji said the government has not taken tightening measures at entry points. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Health continues monitoring through surveillance, routine reporting from health facilities, and sample testing in laboratories.