KUCHING, Nov 3 — Two Omicron XBB sub-variant of Covid-19 cases had been detected involving a traveller holding an United States passport and an individual who had just returned from performing the umrah.
Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said he was informed of the discovery by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM) director, Prof Dr David Perera today.
“They were detected from samples of positive cases collected early last month. The institute is sequencing another batch of samples collected in the same month and is likely to detect more cases,” he said in the statement here.
He said based on Dr Perera’s report, it is likely that the XBB had spread in the state since early October.
“The institute has been tracking the SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in the state as part of a national surveillance programme,” Uggah added. — Bernama
