The Health Ministry has confirmed a second case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Malaysia, in an eight-year-old Malaysian girl who returned from Nigeria.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said there are also 18 other suspected cases of Omicron, whose genomic sequencing is pending confirmation.
The results on the 18 suspected cases are expected to be released tomorrow.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament today, Khairy said the second confirmed case lived with her family in Lagos, Nigeria.
The girl, along with her mother and younger sister tested negative in an RT-PCR test before flying back to Malaysia.
They arrived in Malaysia on Dec 5 with a transit in Doha.
They took a second RT-PCR test upon arrival at KLIA and were then placed under quarantine.
The test results for the second RT-PCR test came out positive two days later on Dec 7, and it was confirmed as an Omicron case on Dec 14.
The girl, who is asymptomatic, had been placed under home isolation for 14 days starting Dec 7.
Her mother and younger sister both tested negative on tests upon arrival in Malaysia, on the fifth day, and on the 11th day. They are also asymptomatic.
The other close contacts in the case is a taxi driver as well as her father who arrived in Malaysia on Dec 12 and is being quarantined at a private centre.
The father is negative for Covid-19, while a test on the taxi driver - who is asymptomatic - is being conducted.
There were 35 other contacts on the flight the girl was on, all of whom tested negative on arrival and on Day 5. They are being monitored, Khairy said.
In the meantime, Khairy said Nigeria has been placed on the high-risk countries list and those entering Malaysia from the country will have to wear digital surveilance devices.
[More to follow] - Mkini
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