MALAYSIA may see an Omicron outbreak via local transmission, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“There is a strong possibility that the new variant is already in the community because of the case in Sarawak, where a person who had not travelled overseas recently was infected with Omicron,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

The 38-year-old Chinese national has, for the past three years, been working at an engineering firm in Sarawak. He tested positive for Covid-19 on December 18 after experiencing cough and fever since December 13.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Health and Community Medicine Institute had, via genomic sequencing, confirmed that the new variant is present in a sample taken from the man on December 23.

The patient is currently admitted at Sarawak General Hospital. His two close contacts have tested negative and been ordered to undergo a14-day quarantine.

Khairy said: “This shows that the cases (involving Omicron) will increase as it is already present in the community.”

The severity of such cases is yet to be known, though some studies have shown that the new variant is less deadly than Delta, he added.

“We would not know whether it (Omicron) is less aggressive than Delta as the epidemiology in the United Kingdom differs from Malaysia. But we will know whether a potential outbreak in Malaysia will lead to more hospitalisations.”

Khairy said the government will take preventive measures, including stepping up booster shot administrations.

He advised those who will be travelling abroad to get booster shots before their trip, adding that the interval between the two initial doses and boosters will be shortened, and that details will be announced next week. – December 25, 2021.