KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia has detected its first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in a foreign student who was quarantined after arrival from South Africa two weeks ago, its health minister said on Friday, December 3.
Authorities had retested earlier positive samples after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Omicron as a variant of concern on November 24, minister Jamaluddin said.
The 19-year-old woman, who was asymptomatic and had been vaccinated, had tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival in Malaysia, via Singapore, and was quarantined for 10 days before being released on November 29, Jamaluddin said.
Five other people who shared a vehicle with her prior to her quarantine all tested negative.
Authorities, however, have asked the student along with eight close contacts to undergo further testing after her earlier test samples were confirmed to be the new variant, Jamaluddin added.
An increasing number of countries are reporting cases of the Omicron variant, which the WHO has said carries a very high risk of causing surges of infection.
Neighboring Singapore confirmed two imported cases on Thursday, December 2.
This week, Malaysia temporarily banned the entry of travelers from eight southern African countries that have reported the presence of the variant or are considered high-risk.
On Friday, Jamaluddin said Malaysia would immediately impose further restrictions, including additional tests for vaccinated travelers from Singapore, who are allowed to enter Malaysia without quarantine.
3 travelers from S. Africa, Burkina Faso, Egypt test positive for COVID-19 in the Philippines.
Three travelers who recently arrived in the Philippines from South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Egypt tested positive for COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.
According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the three travelers arrived in the Philippines between Nov. 15 and 29. She said their samples were to be tested for genome sequencing if their cycle thresholds were appropriate for the process.
There were 253 travelers who arrived from South Africa on Nov. 15 to 29. There were also three travelers from Burkina Faso and 541 from Egypt. Each of these countries had one traveler who tested positive for COVID-19.
One tested positive out of the 253 travelers from South Africa, another one out of the 541 travelers from Egypt, and one of the three from Burkina Faso. All of them who tested positive, as long as CT values are appropriate, will be taken to the Philippine Genome Center for genome sequencing.
According to DOH data presented by Vergeire, there are now 35 countries or jurisdictions that have detected cases of the Omicron variant either locally or at their ports of entry. Burkina Faso and Egypt are not included in the list. They are also not on the Philippines’ list of 14 “red” or high-risk countries.
The government has temporarily banned inbound flights from South Africa and 13 other countries from Nov. 28 to Dec. 15 following the threat of the Omicron variant.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said that the three South African nationals who arrived in Negros Occidental last Nov. 25 and 26 are fully vaccinated and are currently not exhibiting symptoms.
“They are all undergoing quarantine in rented houses and have undergone re-swabbing last December 1 with pending test results,” she said.
The Omicron variant was first detected in Botswana, Hong Kong and South Africa in November, according to DOH. South African scientists were the first to announce the discovery of the new variant, saying it has a “very unusual constellation” of mutations. Vergeire noted that with 50 mutations overall, including 30 that are in its spike protein, it is possible that the Omicron variant may cause increased virus transmissibility and “immune evasion.
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