Day: January 2, 2023

Posted on

SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in 28 sewage water samples – Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 (Bernama) — COVID-19 environmental surveillance using sewage water conducted since June till Dec 31 showed that 96.5 per cent, or 28 out of 29 samples taken from international entry points contained the presence of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

 

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the results came from testing at the National Public Health Laboratory with one more sample was still being tested.

 

In the same period, the lab also received 301 samples from 15 sentinel locations representing each state in the  country.

 

 

 

“288 samples (95.7 per cent) had the presence of SARSCoV-2, and positive for Omicron. Three had no presence, while 10 are still being tested,” he said in a statement here today.

 

He said Malaysia’s COVID-19 environmental surveillance was aimed to be supplementary surveillance for COVID-19 in line with the country’s Transition to the Endemic phase.

 

Dr Noor Hisham said detecting the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 in sewage water samples provided early warning by allowing them to get an idea on the virus density trend, identify the variants in the community  and monitor the intervention controls’ effectiveness in general.

 

 

“For sentinel locations in each state, sewage samples are taken from selected sewage treatment plants by the respective district health office. About two or three samples are taken from each location monthly depending on the need. The samples are then sent to the lab for testing.

 

“For samples from entry points, risk assessment is continually conducted to identify countries with risk. Based on the assessment, all flights from the country are then further studied by the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) health office,” he said.

 

He said in general all the sewage water is brought out of the airport using lavatory trucks to the aircraft waste disposal facilities (AWDF), which is coordinated by airport ground handlers.

 

After a targeted flight is identified, the sampling is conducted by the health office at KLIA with the assistance of airport authorities before the sewage water is handed over to the AWDF.

 

Dr Noor Hisham said sewage sampling from aircraft is done twice weekly, adding that one litre is taken from selected aircraft.

 

He said that due to the current situation, the sampling involves aircraft from China.

 

He added that this would the Health Ministry to monitor the entry of SARS-CoV-2 variants from entry points as a control measure to face the current situation.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

COVID-19: Monitoring of asymptomatic patients to be done totally via MySejahtera – Health D-G

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 (Bernama) — From now on the reporting and monitoring of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients will be done totally through the MySejahtera platform.

 

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this would involve Home Assessment Tool (HAT) self-reporting, notifications to complete the HAT, notifications to report warning signs as well as notifications to individuals eligible for PAXLOVID antiviral drug treatment.

 

He said this is following the termination of the Automated Voice Recording (Robocall) for those who have yet to respond to HAT questions in the MySejahtera application.

 

 

 

“The Health Ministry (MOH) would like to remind all individuals, especially those who have been confirmed positive to activate the MySejahtera application notification function on their smartphones to ensure that the self-monitoring mechanism is functioning well,” he said in a statement today.

 

Dr Noor Hisham said virtual monitoring of COVID-19 patients will be continued by the task force at the Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) and the Health Clinics Fever Centre, while the state-level Crisis Preparedness and Emergency Response Centre (CPRC) will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in their respective states.

 

He said the Home Surveillance and Observation Order (HSO) and the Release Order (RO) would be given as usual through the MySejahtera application.

 

 

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in the 52nd Epidemiology Week (ME52/2022) from Dec 25 to Dec 31 dropped by 36.1 per cent with 3,767 cases in contrast with 5,894 cases in ME51/2022.

 

He said the number of local cases showed a 36.5 per cent drop from 5,880 cases to 3,735 cases while the number of imported cases rose from 14 cases to 32 cases.

 

Dr Noor Hisham said the number of deaths also dropped by 29 per cent or 22 cases that week compared with 31 cases previously.

 

“The average daily active cases for ME52/2022 decreased by 14.7 per cent (14,580 cases to 12,433 cases),” he said, adding that the average infectivity rate (RT) during the week was 0.79.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

Penang to implement MOH-set protocols on China tourist arrivals

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 2 (Bernama) — The Penang government will implement protocols set by the Federal Government and the Ministry of Health (MOH) regarding the entry of tourists from China to the state.

 

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government would comply with the instructions in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

 

“So far there are no direct flights from China to Penang since they have been stopped after the COVID-19 pandemic hit,” he told reporters here today.

 

 

 

China will reopen its borders on Jan 8 after being closed for almost three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Today, the MOH said it was ready to revise the health care policy for the management of the COVID-19 pandemic at existing national borders, including tightening the standard operating procedures (SOP) of health checks at the country’s entry point.

 

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said that it will be implemented if necessary, not only for visitors (Malaysian citizens and non-citizens) arriving from China but also for those arriving from other countries.

 

 

She said that MOH takes seriously the concerns of the people regarding the increase in cases of COVID-19 in China as well as the restrictions imposed by several other countries on tourists from the republic, adding that it was a matter of priority of MOH at the moment.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

People must cross-check, recognise scams and fake news – Teo

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 (Bernama) — People need to be more careful and verify any information received to avoid falling victim to fake news and scams, said Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching.

 

She said the era of digitisation now allows information to be easily manipulated by parties with malicious intent, especially information disseminated in social media.

 

Therefore, Teo said people need to be more aware in evaluating any information received before acting on it or sharing it with others because it has the potential to be a threat if it is fake news or has elements of a scam.

 

 

 

She said the public can use government channels to check the validity of information or news.

 

“For example, if there is news about the Social Welfare Department (JKM) giving assistance, open the JKM website and see if it has started new applications for assistance. If there is none, it means that the information is most likely fake news.

 

“First, ask ourselves if the information is correct. If we are not sure, check and not spread it,” she said on the ‘Pastikan Sahih’ programme broadcast on TV1 today.

 

 

Apart from that, Teo also said people who suspect they have become a victim of scams should quickly contact the National Scam Response Centre on 997 so that rapid action can be taken by the authorities.

 

“This is a one-stop centre that allows relevant parties to take immediate action to stop the outflow of a victim’s money as soon as they realise someone has fallen victim to a scam,” she said.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

Posted on

Penang inks MoU with Indonesia’s Citilink Airlines to boost medical tourism

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 2 (Bernama) — Penang Centre of Medical Tourism (P.MED), an initiative of the Penang state government, has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Citilink Airlines operator PT Citilink Indonesia to bolster medical tourist arrivals from Indonesia to the state.

 

P.MED chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said Indonesia has always been a major source market for Penang’s medical tourism given its language and cultural similarities with Malaysia.

 

Yeoh, who is also the state executive councillor for tourism and the creative economy, said the total revenue for Penang’s medical tourism has increased exponentially from RM66 million in 2021 to RM285 million in 2022 after the reopening of the country’s international borders.

 

 

 

“In the first 11 months of 2022, Penang welcomed 144,975 international medical arrivals, of which Indonesia contributed 54 per cent, followed closely by Bangladesh and India.

 

“To facilitate travel (from) Indonesia, we are now signing this MoU between P.MED and Citilink Airlines to bring more medical tourists to Penang,” he said during the P.MED video launch and MoU signing event with PT Citilink Indonesia, witnessed by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow here today.

 

Also present were Indonesia’s consul-general in Penang Bambang Suharto, Thai consul-general in Penang Khun Raschada Jiwalai, as well as the airline’s chief commercial and cargo officer Ichwan F. Argus and vice president of sales and distribution Emir Bustamam.

 

 

Meanwhile, in his speech, Chow said that while the numbers achieved this year have yet to surpass that of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, the resurgence of medical tourists to Penang has been very encouraging.

 

“We have attained nearly 50 per cent of what we used to earn in 2019 (and) this is very good for our economy.

 

“It is also something that we are very proud of because it shows that Penang has survived as a tourism destination, and we continue to attract visitors because we have so much to offer,” he said.

 

Chow said that according to the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council, from 2015 to 2019 the industry recorded a cumulative average growth rate of 17 per cent.

 

“In 2019, Penang received nearly 480,000 medical tourists, generating RM730 million in revenue, and this amounted to nearly 50 per cent of the total (medical tourism) revenue for Malaysia,” he added.

 

Established in 2015, the P.MED initiative is now home to 13 member hospitals and 16 associate members spread over various strategic locations throughout Penang to provide excellent healthcare encompassing a wide range of specialist medical services.

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

Posted on

COVID: Two main variants found in China detected in Malaysia – Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 (Bernama) — Two main COVID-19 variants that are found to be spreading rapidly in China, namely BA.5.2 and BF.7, that accounted for almost 80 per cent of the variants found in China currently, have been detected in Malaysia.

 

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said as at Dec 31, there were 4,148 cases infected with BA.5.2 and three cases infected with BF.7 in the country.

 

However, Dr Noor Hisham clarified that there was no data to link serious cases or deaths to the BA.5.2 and BF.7 variants.

 

 

 

“Both variants are listed as sublineage Omicron BA.5 and have not been linked as Lineage Under Monitoring (LUM) by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

 

“However, both the BA.5.2 and BF.7 variants are believed to have been caused by recurring cases or those who have a high chance of contracting the variant due to a high number of cases in China,” he said in a statement today.

 

According to Dr Hisham, the situation will be monitored from time to time and when there are drastic changes that need strategic measures to ensure public health, it will be announced immediately by the WHO to all countries and for public attention.

 

 

The BF.7 Variant which is an abbreviation for BA.5.2.1.7, originated from the Omicron BA.5 variant and for the first time was diagnosed in the world in July 2022.

 

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said through genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Malaysia throughout December 2022, showed that the XBB variant was dominant in the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

 

The XBB variant comprise 55.4 per cent of the samples showed 17 genom; followed by the BA.2.75 variant (20.8 percent) and BQ.1 variant (10.8 percent).

 

“This shows that the XBB variant is the main variant that is spreading among Malaysians since October 2022. Both the XBB and BA.2.75 variants are a type of variant Lineage Under Monitoring (LUM) WHO,” he said.

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

Posted on

Search for missing angler starts in Tasik Gubir

 

SIK, Jan 2 (Bernama) — The search and rescue operation for a 20-year-old man feared drowned during a fishing trip at Lake Gubir near here started earlier today.

 

Sik District Fire and Rescue Station assistant operations chief Zulkhairi Tanjil said they scrambled a team upon receiving a distress call at 4.57pm to start the search and rescue operation.

 

“The Kedah operations centre answered an emergency call about a drowning victim through MERS 999 and a five-man team and boat were dispatched to the scene in Tasik Gubir.

 

 

 

 

“The location is 43 kilometres from our station… The Water Rescue Team (PPDA) is also assisting in this search and rescue operation,” he said here today.

 

Meanwhile, Sik District police chief DSP Abdull Razak Osman when contacted, confirmed the incident and said based on preliminary information obtained, it is possible that the victim went to Tasik Gubir to fish.

 

“Investigations are still ongoing and the search and rescue operation will continue until tomorrow,” he said.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency