KUALA LUMPUR (May 30): Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said he had received reports of a new hybrid variant of Covid-19 in Vietnam, arising from the UK and India variants.
During a press conference today, he said the emergence of the hybrid variant could result in quicker transmission of the virus and may result in more deaths.
“The hybrid variant has been detected in Vietnam, but has yet to be detected in other countries. We have strengthened the quarantine requirements for those coming back from Vietnam.
“We have done so for countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, requiring 21 days of quarantine,” he said.
He also noted that the new variants, namely from UK, India, Brazil and South Africa, have been detected in this region, and therefore it is important to increase the rate of vaccination in the country.
As at May 29, a total of 11.96 million individuals have registered for vaccination, with a total of 2.85 million individuals receiving at least one dose of vaccination.
Some 1.82 million people have received their first dose of vaccination, while 1.02 million have received their full doses.