Health minister urges caution as Omicron sub-variants spread

18 April 2023

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should wear face masks when visiting relatives for Aidilfitri and do a screening test for Covid-19 if they have any symptoms, health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said today.

She said this was to prevent the spread of the latest Omicron sub-variants of Covid-19, which have a faster transmission rate than the previous ones.

However, she assured the public that there was no need to panic, as the sub-variants were not causing severe symptoms and the number of deaths was still low.

She said the sub-variants that have been identified in the country were XBB 1.5, XBB 1.16 and XBB 1.9.1, which were still of the Omicron type.

She said they were still under control with the help of public health measures and vaccination.

Zaliha said this at a press conference after attending a town hall session on the health ministry’s white paper here today.

She also announced that 4,264 contract medical officers had been appointed to permanent positions as of yesterday.