Dr Lam Sai Kit, a research consultant at Universiti Malaya and Academy of Sciences Malaysia senior fellow, said governments can tailor their responses accordingly when more information is available in the ensuing weeks.

“In the meantime, Malaysia and the world must be prepared for a worst-case scenario,” he said, with measures such as travel bans, enhanced border surveillance and genome sequencing efforts especially with foreign tourists from affected countries.

“To reimpose travel restrictions of any kind is not a popular move and will certainly further damage the global economy. But what else can we do to prevent or at least slow down the variant from spreading outside of South Africa?” he said.

“We have to be proactive to protect our borders, and one way is to impose travel restrictions, no matter how unpopular this is.”

The Omicron strain was classified by the World Health Organization today as a Variant of Concern – the most threatening category for Covid-19 strains. It has been detected largely in Southern Africa, but has also been found in Hong Kong, Belgium and Israel.

Lam said “we do not know the disease severity of Omicron” and whether the present PCR and rapid antigen tests would still work well, or if vaccines now in use will still be effective against Omicron.

However, current measures such as wearing of face masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene, avoiding crowded spaces, improving ventilation of indoor spaces, will still work.

“Getting vaccinated as well as getting the booster dose is still highly recommended.”

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