KUCHING: The Covid-19 Omicron variant is now the most dominant circulating Variant of Concern (VOC) in the state.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM) director Professor Dr David Perera said the Omicron variant has been confirmed to completely replace the Delta variant in Sarawak.
He said a total of 77 samples of positive cases were successfully sequenced from Jan 20 to Feb 6, where all the samples were identified as Omicron, which also show a 100 per cent detection rate (of this variant) in Sarawak.
"This indicates the Omicron has now completely replaced the Delta variant and has become the single dominant circulating VOC in the state," he said this today in his report to the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee chairman Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas.
He said the Omicron positive cases were identified in Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu.
Meanwhile, there were also imported cases, which were from Selangor, Pahang and Johor.
Of the Omicron samples sequenced, he said, 71 were identified as the BA.1.1 lineage, three as BA.1 and the other three as the highly infectious BA.2 lineage, which had been detected in Sibu, Miri and Kuching.
Perera, who is also a member of the Sarawak Covid-19 Vaccine Advisory Group (SCOVAG), advised the public to immediately get their booster shot if they have not done so, following the dramatic increase of Covid-19 cases nationwide.
He said studies had shown that a booster is necessary to boost waning neutralising antibody levels to protect from Omicron infection and hospitalisation.
"The public are also urged to get their children, aged 5 to 11 years old, to be vaccinated during the ongoing nationwide vaccination drive for younger children, to protect them from the risk of severe infection and hospitalisation.
"Additionally, the people must continue to adhere to the various SOP strictly and avoid community gatherings to prevent further community spread," he stressed.
