Health Ministry: 17 imported Omicron cases are unvaccinated
Early investigations of the 117 imported Omicron variant cases as of Jan 4 revealed that 17 of them had no vaccination record.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this is a violation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as only those who have been vaccinated should be allowed to travel overseas.
Among the 17 cases, four each were...
Early investigations of the 117 imported Omicron variant cases as of Jan 4 revealed that 17 of them had no vaccination record.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this is a violation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as only those who have been vaccinated should be allowed to travel overseas.
Among the 17 cases, four each were returning from the UK, Nigeria and the UAE, and one case each were returning from Saudi Arabia, the US, Australia, Ghana and Ireland.
“This involves some violation of the SOP because only those who have been vaccinated should be allowed to travel (overseas).
“So, we will discuss this matter with the relevant ministries so that travel agents can comply with the SOPs that we have set,” Khairy said in a press conference today, which was held in Parliament and live-streamed online.
It was previously announced that, as of Jan 4, there are 122 Omicron cases detected in the country, of which 117 are imported and five are locally transmitted.
In today’s press conference, Khairy announced another 123 cases since then, which brings the tally of Omicron cases in the country to 245.
Of the 245 cases, 233 are imported cases from overseas while the remaining 12 are locally transmitted.
About 64 percent (157 cases) of the 245 total Omicron cases involved those returning from their umrah pilgrimage, added Khairy.
Umrah suspension
With regards to the temporary umrah suspension starting Jan 8, the Health Ministry will conduct a risk assessment within the country and in Saudi Arabia from time to time to decide whether to remove the suspension.
Khairy said they will also update the SOPs for those travelling to Saudi Arabia for their umrah, such as mandating the booster shot, improving the management of positive cases and close contacts in Saudi Arabia and strengthening the responsibilities of the travel agencies in ensuring the safety of their clients.
He also responded to allegations of bias in suspending umrah visits, pointing out that an overwhelming number of positive Covid-19 cases detected at the international entry point in the last week of December last year was from those returning from Saudi Arabia.
Of the 1,842 positive cases detected at the international entry point of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) within the final week of 2021, Khairy said 1,558 cases (85 percent) were those returning from Saudi Arabia.
For comparison, the second highest number involved those returning from Turkey, with 84 positive cases, he said.
“This was the data presented to the cabinet in a briefing by the Health Ministry director-general which shows that the most positive cases, regardless of variant, that we detected are those returning from Saudi Arabia.
“Of those cases, the most Omicron variant cases came from those returning from their umrah in Saudi Arabia.
“Those are the facts. That is why the Health Ministry made the decision to temporarily postpone the umrah pilgrimage so that we can slow down the spread of Covid-19, especially those involving the Omicron variant,” he said.
It was previously reported that the government had decided to temporarily suspend umrah visits to Saudi Arabia starting Jan 8, amid a surge of infections among those returning from that country.
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