KINIGUIDE | Where is Malaysia in the looming Omicron wave?

KINIGUIDE | In the month since it was first discovered, many governments have scrambled to tighten border controls and ramp up disease surveillance in a bid to slow or prevent the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant into their borders.

One by one, however, the virus managed to slip by each countries' defences to establish a foothold.

On Dec 24, the first known locally acquired Omicron case was detected in Bintulu, Sarawak. Then, Malaysians were greeted with the news on New Year's Day that there were already at least five clusters involving the Omicron variant.

If examples in the Americas and Europe could serve as precedent, Malaysia would face a wave of new Covid-19 infections in the coming weeks.

By keeping the virus at bay for this long, however, Malaysia can also benefit from these countries' hard-earned experiences.

In this first of a two-part KiniGuide, we examine how the government responded to the new threat. Tomorrow, we will revisit what has been learned about the Omicron variant and see how well tests and vaccines hold up against it.

Where are the Omicron cases?

As of Jan 14, there are 253 genomically confirmed Omicron variant cases in Malaysia so far – 236 imported and 17 locally transmitted. The only territory where Omicron's presence has yet to be confirmed is in Putrajaya.

The 17 local cases were detected in Sarawak (10), Kedah (4) and Selangor (3), according to a statement by Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on Jan 11.

There are also 13 Covid-19 clusters involving...