Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 3 (BNA) Malaysia said on Friday that it had detected the first case of the new Omicron strain of coronavirus in a foreign student who returned to the country last month after visiting her family in South Africa, the Associated Press reported.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the 19-year-old woman had crossed into Singapore and arrived in Malaysia on November 19, where she was tested for COVID-19 upon arrival. He said she was then transferred to her university dormitory in the northern state of Perak with four others and placed under quarantine.
He said the next day’s results confirmed that the student tested positive for COVID-19. He added that the result of the examination of the bus driver and four others in the car was negative and all of them were isolated.
Khairy pointed out that the student arrived in Malaysia before South Africa informed the World Health Organization of the first case of Omicron.
Khairy said that following the discovery of the Omicron strain, the ministry conducted genomic tests on 74 positive samples at Kuala Lumpur International Airport between November 11 and 28 to detect the variant. Tests on Thursday confirmed that the student, who has since been released from a 10-day quarantine, has the Omicron strain.
Malaysia, like many other countries, tightened restrictions after the discovery of the new alternative. It has banned visitors from eight African countries and requires travelers traveling from high-risk countries to wear a digital tracker throughout the quarantine period.
Much remains unknown about the new alternative, including whether it is more contagious, as some health authorities suspect, whether it makes people more dangerous, and whether it could thwart vaccines.
insult