KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — Malaysia is seen as better prepared to deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant and protect the most vulnerable, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
In his tweet today, Khairy said the situation was not the same as seen in June to September last year because the country is better protected now through vaccination under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme.
“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 sped 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,” he said.
He said the vaccination programmes for adults, adolescents and soon for children aged 5 to 12 are working well as well as the hospital utilisation rate remains 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 per cent of adults and almost 70 per cent 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.
“Follow SOPs (standard operating procedures). #TRIIS. Get boosted. Get your kids vaccinated. We can do this,” he said.
