THE Health Ministry has detected another 49 Omicron cases, bringing the total number of such cases to 62, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) has carried out PCR genotyping assay testing on 145 samples taken from travellers from December 15 and 21.

“Of the samples, 60 showed a possibility of presumptive positive for the Omicron variant. Of the 60, 45 presumptive samples are confirmed as Omicron,” he told a press conference today, adding that the results are based on genome sequencing done by IMR.

He said Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Health and Community Medicine Institute has detected four Omicron cases.

Of the 62 cases, 61 are imported, while one – detected in Sarawak – involves a patient with no recent travel history and is suspected to be from local transmission.

Khairy said all the Omicron cases belong to Categories 1 or 2, adding that presumptive cases will also be counted.

He also said travellers who tested negative pre-departure, tested positive upon arrival.

“This means that they were infected within 72 hours between the pre-departure and arrival tests. This shows that there is a possibility that the new variant is highly infectious.”

Of the imported Omicron infections, 30 are detected among umrah pilgrims who returned from Saudi Arabia.

“A significant number of the returnees did not comply with quarantine rules and had mingled with family members and visitors (as soon as they returned),” said Khairy, adding that people should take this seriously.

The government has allowed home quarantine, which is a cost-effective measure, to ease the isolation process, he added.

Khairy said other such cases have been detected among returnees from Ghana, Italy, Nigeria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Qatar.

He advised those who will be travelling abroad to get booster shots before their trip.

He said the interval between the two initial doses and boosters will be shortened, and that details will be announced next week.

Meanwhile, a former Semenyih Immigration Detention Centre detainee has tested positive for Omicron on December 16, while undergoing quarantine in his home country of Indonesia after being deported from Malaysia on December 10.

Khairy, when commenting on the matter, said the 20-year-old man had tested negative while detained in Malaysia and upon arrival in Indonesia.

“We are still investigating (the matter) to determine close contacts and the source of infection. The Health Ministry is communicating with the Indonesian Embassy on further details.” – December 25, 2021.