KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has detected four more cases of the South African Covid-19 variant B.1.351 in Malaysia.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cases were detected through a genomic surveillance conducted from April 15 - 23.
These four cases, which were all local transmissions, were then confirmed by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR).
"These latest infections bring the total to 21 cases involving the South African variant B.1.351.
"Three cases were reported in the Kuala Langat district (Selangor), while another case is the first of its kind detected outside of Selangor as it was recorded at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban, Negri Sembilan," he said in a statement today.
The three South African variant cases reported in the Kuala Langat district comprised of two cases from the Teknologi Emas Cluster, and a third case who was a close contact.
Dr Noor Hisham said samples from a total of 29 cases underwent full genome sequencing.
These samples came from cases recorded in Johor, Selangor, Putrajaya, Sabah and Sarawak and the genome sequencing was conducted from April 15- 23.
"The SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) genome data obtained from these cases revealed the common lineage cycles found in Malaysia, namely the B.1.524 in the Peninsular and B.1.466.2 in Sarawak and these are categorised as not Variants of Concern (VOC)," he said.
Out of those 29 cases, 23 of them were under the "Selangor B.1.524 Lineage" which were traced in Selangor (12), Putrajaya (three), Sabah (four), and Johor (six); while another four cases were under the "Sarawak B.1.466.2 Lineage".
Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry welcomes the announcement made by Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on a decision to impose stricter controls on newly arrived travelers from countries which have reported the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus type VOC.
"The travellers will be placed under quarantine period between 10 days and 14 days. It will reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 virus type VOC into Malaysia," he said.
Dr Noor Hisham added that more information on this matter will be updated soon to facilitate travel planning for travelers.