KUCHING: There is no new Covid-19 virus variant B.1.1.529 detected in Sarawak thus far, clarified the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
According to the committee, as a measure for the early detection of new variants in the community, laboratories at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Clinical Research Center (CRC) Sibu will continue to conduct genomic surveillance in Sarawak on an ongoing basis.
“This measurement is taken in response to the press statement of the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) on Nov 26 regarding the detection of the new variant, namely B.1.1.529 in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong.
“In line with this, we support the improvement of border prevention and control measures for travellers arriving from high-risk countries, as proposed by the MOH.
“Hence, citizens need not worry or panic with the announcement of this new variant, as the Covid-19 infection prevention measures including the new variant remain the same,” it added,
In this regard, the SDMC also calls on all citizens not to be complacent with the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak which is currently improving.
“Citizens are advised to remain vigilant and comply with the existing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and to get your vaccinations and booster doses if eligible so that we are all protected from the Covid-19 infection and its complications,” it reminded.
Meanwhile, the committee pointed out that the administration of the booster dose which started on Oct 13 has a very positive effect on the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak based on the trend of positive cases, deaths and the rate of infectiousness (Rt) which has decreased significantly.
“Having said this, we would like to express our highest appreciation to all the people in Sarawak for cooperating with all agencies involved and always complying with the existing SOPs.
“With the recent approval of the booster dose to adults aged 18 to 39 by the MOH, we hope that all eligible individuals will come to receive the booster dose vaccination when an appointment is given,” it expressed.
Separately, the SDMC disclosed that the average new Covid-19 cases daily reported for this month (as of Nov 27) was 345 cases per day, and this is a decrease compared to October 2021 with an average of 1,013 new cases per day.
“Whereby, the number of fatalities due to the virus for November 2021 has also decreased to 181 deaths, compared to 497 deaths in October 2021 and the Covid-19 infection rate (Rt) for Sarawak on Nov 26 was 0.78 – the lowest rate compared to other States,” it said.
Adding on, it mentioned that as of Nov 26, a total of 90.5 percent or 75.5 percent of the total population in Sarawak are fully vaccinated while a total of 634,684 people in Sarawak have received their booster doses.
