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Malaysia detects first case of Omicron variant
It was detected in a foreign visitor from South Africa who arrived in Malaysia via Singapore on November 19, he said.
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People wearing protective masks wait in line at a bus stop, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia November 10, 2020. (REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng)
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alaysia has detected the country's first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Friday.
It was detected in a foreign visitor from South Africa who arrived in Malaysia via Singapore on November 19, he said.
On Thursday, Singapore detected two imported cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, both of whom have been isolated, its health ministry said.
Contact tracing was ongoing for passengers on the same flight as those infected, and there was no evidence of community transmission, it said in a statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates announced its first known case of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, state news agency WAM reported.
The variant was detected in an African woman who had travelled from an African country and transited through an Arab country, WAM said. The woman had received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Public health authorities have placed her in isolation, as well as those who were in contact with her, WAM reported.
The UAE is the second Gulf country to detect a case of the new variant, after Saudi Arabia announced its first case earlier on Wednesday.
Last week, the UAE suspended entry for travellers from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique as a precautionary measure against the spread of Omicron
