The Malaysian Insight

THE results of a second test have come back negative for a South African student who tested positive for the Covid-19 Omicron variant at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The health director general said all seven close contacts of the 19-year-old student also tested negative.

“Latest from Perak. All eight samples of the RT PCR test for the Omicron variant came back negative; they are for the index case, the seven close contacts who are the driver, the university employee, three classmates (two Ghana and one India) and two roommates,” he tweeted this evening.

In a follow-up tweet, Noor Hisham said the student’s PCR test showed a high cycle threshold, indicating she was at the tail end of the infection.

“Perhaps because she has been fully vaccinated and her Rt Pcr CT value is high meaning tail end of infection and low infectivity although detected positive.”

Noor Hisham said the authorities have traced all 106 passengers who were on the same flight as the student.

Earlier today, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the first case of Omicron had been detected in Malaysia.

He said the infected person was a 19-year-old foreign student studying in Ipoh, Perak who had entered the country through Singapore.

The minister said the person and five others who were in the KLIA shuttle with him were in quarantine.

He said the student entered Malaysia on November 19 before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Omicron a variant of concern on November 24.

Malaysia has barred entry to people arriving from eight  South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.

WHO said the B.1.1.529 variant, which it has named Omicron, was first reported in South Africa on November 24. – December 3, 2021.