Not time yet to reopen borders, says activist
KUCHING: Social activist Voon Shiak Ni is not thrilled about the country reopening its international borders about now. In responding to the National Recovery Council’s (NRC) proposal to fully reopen the country’s borders as early as March 1 and the mandatory quarantine to be lifted for all travellers heading to Malaysia, she said the timing […]
Spike in number of cases in Sibu Division
SIBU: There is a sharp increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Sibu Division. The Sibu Division Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) which released the latest figures on Wednesday (Feb 9), said the division recorded 35 new cases, a sharp increase within the past few days. “This upward trend has been occurring since the […]
Sibu braces for Omicron wave
KUCHING: The Sibu Division Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) is preparing to face a Covid-19 Omicron wave in the coming weeks. Its coordinator, Dr Annuar Rapaee said 14 cases were reported in Sibu district on Sunday (Feb 6), the highest recorded in a day after two months. “The Omicron is more infectious and can spread four […]
Omicron is now the dominant variant in Sarawak
KUCHING: The Omicron has now replaced the Delta as the dominant circulating Covid-19 variant in the state, says Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM) director Prof Dr David Perera. According to Perera, a detection rate of seventy eight per cent of the Omicron had been discovered from surveillance data of […]
People need to remain vigilant to curb Covid-19
KUCHING: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian has urged everyone to practise safety measures, including self-assessment, self-testing and self-isolation as Sarawak enters Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan and the stage of living with the Covid-19 virus. “Self-assessment on your risk exposure to yourself and also to your loved ones. Self-test […]
Additional ventilation points at SGH
KUCHING: Thirty-six additional ventilation points that have been installed at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) are now being utilised. Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the state government had provided RM1.3 million for this purpose. “This means that if there is a need for them later, they are already there. We were really […]
Singapore reports first Omicron-related death
SINGAPORE: A 92-year-old unvaccinated woman has died from complications related to the Omicron COVID-19 variant – the first Omicron-related death in Singapore, according to The Straits Times’ report yesterday. Quoting the republic’s Health Ministry (MOH), the newspaper said the woman had no known medical history and caught the virus from a family member. She died […]
Do surgical masks provide good protection against Omicron?
BY NINA MUSLIM WHEN Malaysia repeatedly recorded over 10,000 COVID-19 infections daily last year, thanks to the highly infectious Delta variant, some decided it was time to drop the surgical mask and go for a respirator. One of them, a 45-year-old mother who asked to be identified as Nana, told Bernama her reasoning was simple: […]
No proof Omicron can help build herd immunity: Khairy
KLANG: There has been no proven public health approach that one should be infected with the COVID-19 Omicron variant to help build herd immunity, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said. He said such an approach has not even been proven valid. “It doesn’t matter what sort of variant. Omicron, Delta, Alpha and Beta, don’t go voluntarily looking to get infected as firstly, we […]
US Omicron cases receding: Data
NEW YORK: The United States’ Omicron wave is beginning to recede in New York and other major cities, official data showed this week, even as COVID-19 hospitalisations, a lagging indicator, reached new highs. The trend of explosive rises in Omicron cases followed by equally fast declines follows similar patterns seen in Britain and in South […]
