A medical worker stores a Covid-19 swab sample for testing. — Bernama photo
MIRI (Feb 11): The Omicron variant has now completely replaced the Delta variant, and is the single dominant circulating variant-of-concern (VOC) in Sarawak, said Professor Dr David Perera.
The director of the Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM) of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) in a statement today revealed that from January 20 to February 6, a total of 77 samples of positive cases were successfully sequenced and all were identified as the Omicron VOC.
“All samples were identified as the Omicron VOC to indicate a 100 per cent detection rate (of this variant) in Sarawak.
“This indicates the Omicron has now completely replaced the Delta variant and has become the single dominant circulating VOC in the state,” he said in a report to Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
He added that the Omicron cases were identified in Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu while the imported cases were from Selangor, Pahang and Johor.
Of the Omicron samples sequenced, he said 71 were identified as the BA.1.1 lineage, three were BA.1 and another three were the highly infectious BA.2 lineage which have been detected in Sibu, Miri and Kuching.
Because of that, Dr Pereira, who was also a member of the Sarawak Covid-19 Vaccine Advisory Group (SCoVAG), advised those who have not gotten their booster shot to get them immediately.
He said studies had shown that a booster shot was necessary to boost waning neutralising antibody levels to protect from Omicron infection and hospitalisation.
Meanwhile, he also urged parents and guardians to get their five to 11-year-old children vaccinated against Covid-19 during the ongoing nationwide vaccination drive to protect them from the risk of severe infection and hospitalisation.
“Additionally, public health standard operating procedures need to be strictly adhered to and community gatherings avoided if possible, to prevent further community spread,” he said.