Khairy assured the public of health ministry’s capabilities in handling the incoming wave of the Omicron variant
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is better prepared to deal with the surge in Covid-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant and knows how to protect the most vulnerable, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
The Rembau MP said the situation was not the same as in June to September last year as the national immunisation programme meant the country was “better protected”.
“More than a month ago, I said that we expect Omicron to become dominant here as it has elsewhere and that when it did, cases would rise. That’s why we speeded up our booster programme.
“We are now seeing the predicted quick rise in cases. However, there is no need to panic. There is a strong indication of decoupling between severe outcomes and cases,” the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) reported.
He said the vaccination programmes for adults, adolescents and soon for children aged 5-12 were working and the hospital utilisation rate remained under control.
“That’s why we can shorten quarantine times, allow people to self-regulate and keep disruption to a minimum,” he added.
With more than 50% of adults and almost 70% of the elderly having received their Covid-19 booster dose, Khairy said Malaysia had every hope that it could weather the Omicron wave with carefully calibrated and proportionate measures.
The health ministry reported 5,566 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, an increase from the 4,774 cases detected yesterday.
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