By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, Aug 16: Health director general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has reminded the public to be more careful as the new Covid-19 strain, D614G which is detected in Malaysia, is more infectious.
Dr Noor Hisham, in a Facebook posting, said the latest results received from the Malaysian Institute for Medical Research has detected a D614G type of mutation as a result of isolation and culture tests on three cases from the Sivagangga person-under-investigation (PUI) cluster and one case from the Ulu Tiram cluster which is an individual from the Philippines.
“So far, both clusters have been found to be under control as a result of quick public health control actions.
“This initial test and a few follow-up tests are being conducted to test several other cases, including for the index case of both clusters
“As such, the public are reminded to be more careful as the Covid-19 virus with D614G mutation is detected in Malaysia.
“It is 10 times easier to infect other individuals and spread faster than the ‘super spreader’ individual,” he said in the posting yesterday.
Dr Noor Hisham disclosed that the D614G mutation was discovered by scientists in July 2020 and it could possibly result in the study of existing vaccines to be ineffective.
Hence, he said the measures taken by the Ministry of Health are still preventive measures and public health control, which is urging the public to practice the standard operating procedures (SOP) outlined such as physical distancing, practicing good personal hygiene and wearing face masks at crowded places.
He asserted that the latest Covid-19 situation in Malaysia is under control while MoH and other government agencies are working hard to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 in the country.
Dr Noor Hisham added public co-operation is needed so that all the people can work together to break the chain of Covid-19 infection from all types of mutations. —DayakDaily
