Beware of Omicron subvariants, Sarawakians told

KUCHING: Sarawakians have been urged to be on alert and to get their booster shots after six cases of the of the highly infectious Covid-19 Omicron subvariants were detected.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM) director Prof Dr David Perera said the first incidences of the BA.2.12.1 and BA.5 subvariants were detected from a case in Kuching and Sibu respectively in the last week of May.

“Subsequently, an additional case of BA 2.12.1 and three cases of BA.5 were detected in Kuching in the second and third weeks of June,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Perera said the subvariants were detected from the sequencing of 1,229 samples from positive cases statewide from March 1 to June 16.

He said all the sequenced samples were detected to be of the Omicron variant and subvariants.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has flagged the BA.2.12.1 and BA.5 subvariants as highly infectious with faster transmission rates than the parent Omicron variant.

Dr Perera noted that BA 2.12.1, first detected in the United States, continued to be the dominant driver of infections there, while BA.5 had caused a recent increase in Covid-19 cases in multiple countries.

In this respect, he urged the public in Sarawak to be aware of the heightened risk of infections in the state.

“They are strongly advised to get their booster shot if they have not done so, particularly for individuals with comorbidities and those above 60 years old,” he added.