KUCHING: The Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM) laboratory and the Sibu Hospital Clinical Research Centre (CRC) will continue to conduct Covid-19 virus genome analysis as an early detection measure for the new variant B.1.1.529 in the state.
The state Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said in a statement that no new Covid-19 variant has been detected in Sarawak so far.
"The SDMC also supports the increase of prevention and border control measures for travellers arriving from high-risk countries as proposed by the Health Ministry.
"People do not have to worry or panic about this new variant because the prevention measures for Covid infection, including for the new variant, remain the same, namely wearing a face mask, physical distancing, personal hygiene and booster shots,” the committee said.
Sarawak recorded 137 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Saturday (Nov 27).
SDMC added that the average daily number of new Covid-19 cases reported in Sarawak for November (as of today) was 345 cases and this was less than October with an average of 1,013 new cases a day.
Deaths due to Covid-19 for November also dropped to 181 deaths compared with 497 deaths in October.
"Sarawak's Covid-19 infectivity rate yesterday was 0.78 and this is the lowest compared to other states," according to the statement. - Bernama
