306 Tourists To Malaysia Allegedly Infected By Omicron

JAKARTA - The Malaysian Ministry of Health said 306 of the 366 travelers who carried out the PCR genotyping assay were suspected of contracting the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

"The Institute of Medical Research (IMR) has carried out a PCR Genotyping Assay on 366 samples of positive cases of COVID-19 among travelers from December 21 to 25, 2021," said Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamalludin in Putrajaya, reported by Antara, Tuesday, December 28.

Of these, 306 samples have shown possible Omicron variants and are currently awaiting the results of the full genome sequencing assay.

The Ministry of Health also said that the government would lift temporary travel restrictions in eight countries, namely South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

"The eight countries will be included in the list of high-risk countries, bringing the number of high-risk countries to 18," said Khairy. Previously, the 10 countries with high risk of Omicron were the UK, the United States, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Norway, France, Denmark, India, Canada and Nigeria.

Khairy also said that during the period from December 1-28, 2021, MySejahtera's data showed as many as 1.4 percent of positive cases of COVID-19 given the Supervision and Observation Order (HSO) had violated the quarantine order.

"The Ministry of Health is considering taking action against these individuals," he said.