Cover image via
Bernama/New Straits Times
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According to a statement by the Ministry of Health (MOH) today, 3 December, Khairy said the case was a 19-year-old South African citizen who entered the country via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Singapore on 19 November.
The individual is a student at a private university in Ipoh, Perak.
The student, who is fully vaccinated and had no symptoms, was transferred to the quarters by a private bus arranged by the university.
The case was quarantined for 10 days until 29 November.
“As people catch up with the Omicron announcement, it’s important to note that this case came in to Malaysia on 19 November before South Africa reported the first detected case to the World Health Organization,” he tweeted.
He said the ministry found out about the Omicron case by going back to do genomic tests on all previous positive cases from KLIA between 11 and 28 November to see if the variant has entered the country.
“What is important is the individual fully complied with home quarantine, is fully vaccinated and was asymptomatic,” he said.
“We have done both automated and manual contact tracing and so far this case is contained.”