KUCHING, July 15: Many people are getting reinfected with Covid-19 as Malaysia battles the new BA.5 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant, which is the most easily spread version of Covid-19 to date.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen said to top it off, the BA.5 is particularly good at evading the protection afforded either by vaccination or prior infection.
According to cumulative data from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Covid-19 reinfections during the Omicron wave are 6.3 times higher than reinfected cases reported during the Delta wave.
The Omicron wave has seen 14,630 Covid reinfections versus 2,295 reinfected cases during the Delta wave as of July 6.
“The likelihood is this variant is the dominant sub-variant in our country already due to its infectivity.
“In our country alone, the new daily number reported for epidemiological week 27 (July 3 to 7) recorded an increase of 31 per cent, from 11,394 to 14,967 cases, compared with the number of cases reported for the same period in epidemiological week 26 (June 26 to 30).
“These numbers are expected to increase and possibly peak in about two to three months,” he said in a statement recently.
Dr Yii, who is the Special Parliamentary Select Committee (PSSC) on Health, Science and Innovation chairman, further mentioned that these numbers do not yet paint the full picture as the limited genomic sequencing has not shown the proper distribution of sub-variants in the country.
Additionally, there is a blind spot as people generally are also testing less now as they got used to life in the endemic phase.
“However, if not taken seriously, the rapidly spreading BA.5 variant could increase hospital admissions as seen in countries like Singapore, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
“That is why I strongly believe we cannot afford to go back to the days of lockdowns and strict restrictions, but to do that, we must not let our guard down and continue to protect ourselves,” he added.
He also encouraged the general public to continue wearing face masks, especially in crowded places and urged those who have yet to get their Covid-19 vaccination or booster doses to do so.
Additionally, he wants the government to continue strengthening the public health system in preparation for a possible surge and wave of cases in the near future. — DayakDaily
