Health DG Confirms More Infectious D614G Covid-19 Strain Present In Tawar & Sivagangga Clusters
The D614G mutated strain of the Covid-19 virus is said to be 10 times more infectious.
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Laboratory tests by the Health Ministry have revealed that both the Tawar and Sivagangga clusters have infections arising from the D614G Covid-19 mutated virus strain.Â
During his Covid-19 press conference today, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this was discovered through genomic sequencing tests done by the Ministry.
He added that these results suggest a link between the two clusters.
The D614G mutated strain of the Covid-19 virus is said to be 10 times more likely to infect individuals compared to the original strain discovered in Wuhan at the beginning of the outbreak.
While some studies suggest D614G is more infectious, experts believe it is not deadlier and vaccines will still be effective against this strain.
However, Dr Noor Hisham clarified that further studies are still needed to confirm if the two clusters are connected. He also said that they have not determined how, whether through a patient or some other means, the two may be linked.
Nonetheless, in terms of action plan, in terms of our public health intervention, it remains the same.
Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah
He highlighted that for the past 16 days, there have not been any new cases coming from the PUI Sivagangga cluster, attributing this success to the Health Ministry’s quick action.
Meanwhile, regarding the children who had been infected under the Tawar cluster, of which there are 21 out of the total 73 positive cases, Dr Noor Hisham assured that none of them have been admitted to the ICU for treatment.
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