Malaysia’s Ministry of Health has confirmed the discovery of the first two cases of COVID-19 subvariant Delta AY.4.2 in the country, which is also known as Delta Plus, involving Malaysian students returning from the UK, reported The Star English-language newspaper.

Health Director-General of Malaysia Noor Hisham Abdullah (Photo: www.thestar.com.my)

In a statement on November 6, Health Director-General of Malaysia Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cases were detected when they arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on October 2.

Both students underwent the RT-PCR test and were initially found negative before being confirmed positive after a second test was conducted during the quarantine period.

The samples have undergone full genome sequencing at the Institute of Medical Molecular Biology of the National University of Malaysia, he said.

Abdullah affirmed that the COVID-19 vaccine used now is still effective against this variant and preventive measures can help reduce the risk of transmission of this variant in Malaysia, especially at the country’s international gateways.

The Health Ministry will continue to monitor closely to detect the existence of Delta subvariants in the community, he said.

The World Health Organisation is keeping a close watch on the subvariant AY.4.2 to assess its contagious rate. At present, it has been found in more than 40 countries across the globe.

Source: VNA