Kota Kinabalu: Health authorities are currently testing whether cases in a Sandakan Covid-19 cluster linked to umrah returnees are from the world’s rapidly spreading variant Omicron, according to an official.
Sabah Health Director Datuk Dr Rose Nani Mudin told Daily Express that of the 18 cases detected in the Millennium Saudi cluster as of Dec 30, 13 were umrah pilgrims and the remaining five were their close contacts.
“Several samples were sent for whole genomic sequencing to identify the variants involved and we're still awaiting the results of the sequencing,” she said.
“The risk of infection among umrah pilgrims can be curbed by the pilgrims' adherence to the Covid-19 prevention SOPs wherever they are.
“In addition, non-compliance with quarantine instructions at home or residence upon return from a high-risk country has increased the risk of transmission in family members and neighbours as well as relatives who come to visit, further leading to cluster incidents.”
She was responding to Daily Express’ question on whether there were Omicron cases in the cluster.
Apparently, Millennium Saudi is the only umrah-linked cluster in the nation whose genomic sequencing results are still pending to determine whether the cases came from the Omicron variant.
Today, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there were nine umrah Covid-19 clusters detected nationwide so far.
He said on Twitter that of the nine, five have been confirmed to have Omicron index cases, three others confirmed to have no Omicron index patients and one cluster still awaiting their whole genomic sequencing outcomes.
Omicron was reported to have the ability to spread three to four times faster than the Delta variant.
On Dec 30, AP reported World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as saying he was worried about the Omicron and Delta variants producing a “tsunami” of cases between them, but he was still hopeful that the world would put the worst of the pandemic behind it in 2022.
On Dec 25, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that 30 of Malaysia's then-49 Omicron cases had been detected among umrah pilgrims after their return from Saudi Arabia.
He also said then that a big portion of umrah returnees broke their home quarantine rules such as by receiving guests.
Additionally, Rose Nani reminded newly returned pilgrims to comply with the SOPs and quarantine period set.
“Family members or neighbours are not allowed to visit the umrah pilgrims during their quarantine period to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection,” she said.
“Failure by umrah returnees, family members and neighbours to comply with these instructions will result in the transmission of Covid-19 infections including the Omicron variant to family members, subsequently in the community.”
Umrah pilgrims are currently coming home in droves from Saudi Arabia, which is one of 18 nations listed by Malaysia as having a high risk of Omicron infections.
Also on Dec 30, Labuan health authorities said they were placing extra precautions in receiving umrah returnees.
“The public is reminded to always adopt the new norms and adhere to the SOPs that have been set,” added Rose Nani.
“The [Ministry of Health] also recommends that eligible individuals obtain their Covid-19 vaccine booster doses to achieve an optimal level of protection and avoid severe infection symptoms and complications."
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