Malaysia is entering a new COVID-19 wave, with the highly infectious Omicron BA.5 subvariant already in the community. Alamak!
According to NST, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said as of June 30th, the ministry had discovered five cases of the BA.5 sub-variant through genomic sequencing, “the Health Ministry had identified 13 Omicron sublineages, which we are actively monitoring. There have been six cases of BA.2.12.1, five cases of BA.5, and two cases of BA.5.2.
Photo via Malay Mail
“This indicates that there is BA.5 in the country. These cases were discovered through genome sequencing performed on positive COVID-19 cases between May and June,” he told reporters.
He added that there is a high possibility that the BA.5 is already in the community.
Meanwhile, no sub-variant BA.4 has been detected in the country.
Khairy also said that the ministry expected a rise in new cases due to the Omicron sub-variants, particularly the BA.5 sub-variant, which is the most transmissible version of COVID-19 to date compared to the BA.1 and BA.2.
In November 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified Omicron as a Variant of Convern (VoC), which was first detected in South Africa. Since then, scientists around the world are working urgently to learn more about the variant, including its transmission and vaccine effectiveness against it!
This is pretty serious! Please take care of yourself and your loved ones against this deadly virus.
Get vaccinated ASAP! Remember to regularly wash your hands with soap and water, and wear a facemask whenever you’re in a crowded place!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
