He said the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) had previously detected the mutation in samples taken from the Benteng LD cluster in Sabah, adding that the strain might have come from the Philippines or Indonesia.

“With 23 new clusters involving 604 individuals who returned from Sabah and were found to be Covid-19 positive, it is highly possible that they brought the mutated Covid-19 strain with them too.

“The D614G mutation is different from the mutation detected in Kedah, from those who tested positive in the Sivagangga, Tawar and Sungai clusters. It’s different in characteristics,” he said in a press conference today.

He said the mutation in the strain’s spike protein made the virus more infectious, adding that the term “super-spreader” was directed to the individual infected, not the virus itself.

“So an individual infected with the mutated virus has the potential to infect others if they do not practise physical distancing, proper hygiene or good sneezing etiquette, and so could (more easily) infect the public,” he said.

Noor Hisham also said that the virus was constantly mutating, stressing the need for individuals to continue practising the new norms, such as physical distancing and wearing masks, as a precautionary measure.

IMR had detected the D614G mutation in August, stating it was 10 times easier to infect other individuals if passed by a “super spreader”.

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