[UPDATED] 17 out of 122 Omicron-positive individuals unvaxxed: Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR – Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin revealed that 17 out of 122 individuals who tested positive for the Omicron variant as of January 4 are unvaccinated against Covid-19.

In a press conference, he said all 17 individuals, or 14% of those confirmed to be infected with the new variant, are imported cases, involving 10 Malaysian citizens and seven non-citizens.

The Rembau MP said the ministry is looking into the matter and investigating the reasons behind the travellers’ unvaccinated status.

“This is a violation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as only those who have been vaccinated should have been allowed to travel overseas.”

The 17 cases are imported from eight countries – the United Kingdom (4), Nigeria (4), the United Arab Emirates (4) and one case each from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Australia, Ghana and Ireland.

He added that there were 123 new Omicron cases recorded in the country today, bringing the cumulative caseload to 245.

“From the total, 233 cases are imported while 12 are locally transmitted cases. From the overall Omicron cases reported, a total of 157 cases (64.08%) involve umrah pilgrims.”

The single largest source of imported cases – Omicron or other variants – is Saudi Arabia, he said.

He added that if his ministry does not act based on the available data, it would be impossible to curb the incoming wave of Omicron.

“We conducted a simulation for Omicron and the prediction is that if we had not taken preventative measures such as the temporary suspension of umrah as well as quarantine measures and so on, we would have seen our cases jump to more than 15,000 cases a day from January to February.”

So, he said, the temporary umrah travel ban will be implemented for one month, beginning Saturday.

He added that a domestic and international risk assessment, especially on the gulf kingdom, will be conducted from time to time before umrah is permitted again.

“The umrah SOPs will also be revised, including making it mandatory for umrah-goers to take booster shots before travelling to Saudi Arabia.”

Although the Omicron variant is not as deadly as the Delta variant, he said such a high caseload would overwhelm the country’s healthcare system, which is still recovering.

“As of October 30 last year, government hospitals nationwide still had a backlog of 52,189 cases for elective treatment, comprising 47,828 surgical-based and 4,361 medical-based cases.

“These are non-Covid-19 cases and their treatments had to be postponed,” he said, referring to the surge in Covid-19 hospitalisations during the third wave last year. – The Vibes, January 6, 2022