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PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Health has identified a new strain of Covid-19 in the country from samples taken in Sabah.
However, Tan Sri Chief Health Officer Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said it is still unknown whether the strain, dubbed the “A701B” mutation, was more infectious than usual.
“We detected this mutation in 60 samples taken from Covid-19 patients in the Benteng Lahad Datu group in Sabah.
“We have not yet verified if this strain has a high level of infectivity and if it is more aggressive than usual.
“It is similar to a strain found in South Africa, Australia and the Netherlands.
“The Covid-19 virus always mutates, and we are always monitoring and investigating the involvement of different strains in the population,” Dr. Noor Hisham said at a press conference here on Wednesday (December 23).
He added that Malaysia had previously discovered a mutation that was said to have 10 times more infectivity than normal strains.
The Covid-19 D614G mutation struck Kedah around August, and the state soon saw a rapid rise in infections.
On the Covid-19 mutation found in the UK, which is also said to be highly infectious, he said the ministry was still monitoring the situation.
However, the government does not intend to reverse the mandatory quarantine rule from 10 days to 14 days due to the discovery of the mutation in the UK.
“If we look at the data from our quarantine ruling, it doesn’t make much difference if a person is isolated for 10 or 14 days.
“Most of the time, a person will develop symptoms during the first week.
“If the quarantine period is only seven days, then maybe there is a high risk, but 10 or 14 days is not much of a difference in our experience,” said Dr. Noor Hisham.
Travelers arriving in the country from abroad continue to undergo Covid-19 tests and a quarantine order if they test negative.
Those who test positive will be sent to the hospital for isolation and treatment.
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