No Omicron cases detected in Perak, says health ministry

PETALING JAYA: The health ministry has debunked a message claiming that a Covid-19 case with the new Omicron variant from South Africa has been detected in Perak.

This follows a viral video of a news report with the presenter saying that a variant from South Africa had been detected in Perak. However, it is believed that the news report was from earlier this year when another South African variant (B.1.351) was detected in the country.

In a statement, the ministry said there have been no cases involving the Omicron variant detected in the country so far.

“The public is advised to stop disseminating information from unauthentic sources that can cause concern and anxiety among the community instead of referring to the health ministry’s official media for authentic information,” it said.

The Omicron variant is said to have 32 protein “spike” mutations, which is twice the amount as that of the Delta variant. — Free Malaysia Today