KUALA LUMPUR – News of the Omicron variant’s arrival at Malaysian shores today shook the nation, with many taking their concerns and worries online.
In efforts to restore calm amid the uncertainty, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah advised Malaysians not to panic and overreact, and instead to continue taking all public health precautionary measures.
“The simple truth is that we don’t know enough yet about Omicron. We should not panic and over react, but continue to take all public health precautionary measures, get vaccinated and self-test.
“Today, I believe we have put in place a robust public health system in our preparedness and response. God willing,” he said in a tweet today.
The simple truth is we dont know enough yet about Omicron. We should not panic & over react, but continue to take all the PH precautionary measures, get vaccinated & self testing. Today I believe we have put in place a robust PH system in our preparedness & response. InshaAllah pic.twitter.com/6gew50Yorb
— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) December 3, 2021
Meanwhile, in a separate tweet, he said it is possible that the mutated form of virus has a higher transmission rate due to low vaccination coverage.
“It is possible that the high Omicron transmission is due to low vaccine coverage.
“However, it is clear that the hospitalisation and ICU admission rates are the same as the other variants without any sudden surges in cases.
“It is still too early to make any conclusion,” he said.
Ada kemungkinan penularan Omicron yg tinggi adalah disebabkan oleh liputan vaksin yg rendah. Namun jelas kelihatan kemasukan ke hospital & ICU adalah sama seperti varian yg lain tanpa ada lagi lonjakan kes secara mendadak. Apapun masih terlalu awal untuk membuat sebarang rumusan. pic.twitter.com/cAoVdYq3Pm
— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) December 3, 2021
In a press conference today, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that Malaysia had detected its first case of the Omicron variant in a 19-year-old South African student who arrived from Singapore on November 19.
Khairy said the student was issued with a mandatory quarantine order and did not exhibit any symptoms throughout the isolation.
In a tweet, he said that the patient is legitimately studying in Malaysia and returned after visiting their family in South Africa.
“(The patient) complied with pre-departure testing, on-arrival testing, is fully vaccinated, and stayed home during quarantine. Let’s be measured in our comments and reaction,” he said. – The Vibes, December 3, 2021
