23 cases involving Covid-19 variants of concern detected, says DG

23 cases involving Covid-19 variants of concern detected, says DG

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the variants were detected in Selangor, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Kedah, Perak and Perlis.

Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the total number of Covid-19 cases categorised as variants of concern and variants of interest stood at 161 as of yesterday.
KUALA LUMPUR:
The health ministry has detected a total of 23 cases of Covid-19 variants of concern (VOC) as a result of continuous genomic surveillance from June 3 to June 8, namely 19 Beta variant cases (B.1.351) and four Delta variant cases (B.1.617.2).

Through a post on his official Facebook, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the reported Beta variant cases (B.1.351) included eight cases in Selangor, three in Putrajaya, two each in Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Kedah, as well as one case each in Perak and Perlis.

He said two cases of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) were each detected in Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur.

Noor Hisham added that the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases categorised as VOCs and variants of interest (VOIs) was 161 cases as of yesterday.

Of the total, 145 cases were VOC while 16 cases were listed as VOI.

The total VOC cases reported was 123 cases of the Beta variant (B.1.351), 13 cases of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2), nine cases of the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), while the VOI cases registered were 12 cases of the Theta variant (P. 3), three cases of the Eta variant (B.1.525) and one case of the Kappa variant (B.1.617.1).

“The health ministry will continue to strengthen infectious disease control activities including continuing genomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2, increasing Covid-19 screening tests, conducting contact detection and case isolation, as well as other public health measures to curb the spread of these variants in the community,” he said.

Noor Hisham also advised the public to register for the Covid-19 vaccination to help the country achieve herd immunity.

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