KOTA KINABALU – The highly contagious Omicron variant has been identified as the possible reason for the spike in Covid-19 cases in Sabah.
According to Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun tonight, the state reported 1,285 new cases, up 80 cases from yesterday’s 1,205 cases.
The number also involves those who have completed two doses (838 cases), those who had obtained their booster doses (214 cases), children between the ages of 5 and 11 who have not been vaccinated (90 cases), those above 11 who have not been vaccinated (81 cases), under 5 years old (61 cases) and those who have just received the first dose (one case).
“47.55% are sporadic infections, making up most of the symptomatic cases. The number is higher than the infections caused by close contacts, which make up 45.37%.
“The factors contributing to this spike include lackadaisical attitudes in observing the standard operating procedures when gathering or in overcrowded places,” said Masidi in a statement.
He said, subject to confirmation from the Sabah Health Department, that the spike in cases in the state may be caused by the Omicron variant, which spreads much easier and faster.
“The rate of infection of the Omicron B2 variant, which is also a dominant variant from the Philippines, is 1.8 times faster than the normal variant.
“The same variant is also the cause of the spike in Singapore and some other countries,” he said.
Masidi said Kota Kinabalu had the most infections with 309 cases, followed by Sandakan with 201 cases, Tuaran with 150, and Penampang with 108, while all other Sabah districts also reported an increase in the number of cases.
On active clusters, he said 18 cases have been reported from the Lorong Api-Api cluster in Kota Kinabalu (one), Kg Weston cluster in Penampang (two) , Tawau’s Sri Balung cluster (one) and Jalan Apas Batu Lima (14). – The Vibes, February 6, 2022
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