In his latest address to the nation, caretaker Health Minister YB Khairy Jamaluddin has announced that four cases of the XBB Omicron sub-variant have been detected in Malaysia, as part of his most recent update concerning the coronavirus situation in the country. Speaking from Ministry of Health headquarters, he explained that the four cases originated from both Selangor and Negeri Sembilan states respectively, aged between 25 and 51 years old.
4 XBB Omicron sub-variant cases detected in Malaysia
The four patients, of which consisted three men and one woman, did not have any prior records of traveling abroad, neither did they have any prior contact with other known XBB cases. They were detected through genome sequencing surveillance, and were all in the category 2 stage where they exhibited symptoms such as fever, cough, and sore throat. Only one out of the four individuals was a recurrent Covid-19 patient.
All have since been quarantined for seven days, with all close contacts to the patients successfully identified. At this point in time, Khairy adds that the XBB sub-variant may also be the cause behind a small uptick in Covid-19 cases locally, with the Ministry recording a 16.5% increase from 14,525 cases in Epidemiological Week (EW) 42 to 16,917 cases in EW 43 (Oct 23 to 29).
Similarly, the number of COVID-19 patient admissions into healthcare facilities per 100,000 of the population has also increased by 14.3% in EW 43, when compared to EW 42.
The Omicron XBB sub-variant was first sighted in neighbouring Singapore, which has led to a new Covid wave there. It has since also been detected in Japan as well as in Indonesia and Australia.
Malaysians encouraged to take their second booster
With how close this new Covid wave is to the coming General Election, Khairy has urged Malaysians to exert caution and also strongly recommends the wearing of face masks, especially in places that are crowded and lack proper ventilation.
“Given the increase in cases of Covid-19, the Health Ministry reminds the public that we are still in the transition to the endemic phase and that waves of infection will come and go.
“Unfortunately, the timing of the current increase in cases coincides with GE15, which is why the ministry is advising the public that the use of face masks, although not mandatory, is highly recommended especially in crowded closed areas and for high-risk individuals,” he said.
Front-line staff working with the Election Committee (EC) during the election period are also strongly advised to obtain a second booster dose. Malaysians will be able to apply for a second booster dose come November, after the government’s recent procurement of the Bivalent vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer
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