PETALING JAYA – 12 incidents in total Covid-19 XBB.1.16 (Arcturus) subvariant Health Minister Zariha Mustafa said it had been detected in the country.
“As of April 2, the subspecies has been detected in 31 countries, including Malaysia,” she said in a statement on Monday.
Six cases were detected in Sarawak, four in Selangor and two in Kuala Lumpur, she added.
“The Global Risk Assessment report states that the risk of infection and ongoing cases with subvariant XBB1.16 is lower than with XBB.1.5,” she said.
The XBB.1.16 subvariant is It was first discovered in Japan in March, However, Dr. Zariha said the situation was under control and the country’s medical facilities were not under any pressure.
Arcturus was classified as a subspecies of interest (VOI) by the World Health Organization on 17 April.
Meanwhile, Dr Zariha said the number of new Covid-19 infections last week fell to 4,817 from 5,149 the previous week.
She added that a cumulative 18,319 cases to date have involved the variant of concern and VOI.
She said the Omicron variant remains the most dominant when it comes to infections.
Dr. Zariha called on the public to practice TRIIS to test, report, inform, isolate, and seek medical assistance if infected.
She also urged those who have not yet received booster doses to do so as soon as possible. Star/Asia News Network
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/covid-19-a-dozen-arcturus-cases-detected-in-malaysia-says-health-minister 12 Arcturus Covid-19 cases detected in Malaysia, Health Minister Zariha Mustafa says