[Watch] No, There’s No Omicron Covid Variant In Perak (Yet)
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The Health Ministry has denied rumours that the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron had been detected in Perak.
In a statement today, the ministry reiterated that the country has yet to detect cases of Omicron.
KKM also urged the public to help prevent unreliable and false information from spreading.
For more COVID-19 news and media, the public is advised to visit KKM’s website.
The fight Against Disinformation
It seems that the fake news creator used an old Astro Awani news report that refers to the South African variant – B.1.351.
B.1.351 is the Beta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, NOT the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529).
On 29 November, the Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah had said that there are no cases of the Omicron variant detected in Malaysia.
You can help fight fake news by sharing this fact check with your family and friends!
Oh My God
Omicron was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on 24 November.
It had been discovered in other countries outside Africa, including Belgium, Hong Kong, Britain, Germany, Italy and Israel.
READ MORE: New Omicron Strain Detected By South African Scientists But Africa Gets Banned Instead
WHO had warned that the variant poses a “very high” risk globally.
The danger and contagion levels of the new strain remain uncertain.
Regardless, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin called on the public to step up their vigilance and maintain precautions.
We know Omicron is probably more transmissible than Delta but we don’t yet know it’s virulence. What we can do in the meantime is step up public health interventions (masks, distancing, hygiene), improve indoor air flow, keep our aged safe & take a booster when offered.
— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) November 30, 2021
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