by TMR / pic by TMR FILE

ALL pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia will have to wear electronic devices (digital trackers) to strengthen digital enforcement of the Home Surveillance and Order (HSO) beginning today.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar (picture) said the decision is made due to lack of compliance of home quarantine order which inadvertently resulted in the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

“Thirty out of 49 new Omicron cases in Malaysia were detected from those who have performed the ‘Umrah’ in Saudi Arabia,” the minister said.

Malaysia has reported a total of 62 Omicron cases to-date where 61 cases is an imported infection from abroad.

Another case still under investigation which is suspected to be local infection, he said in a press conference on Saturday.

Additionally, Khairy said Cabinet ministers who are subject to return to Malaysia from travelling abroad will still have to undergo a week quarantine before helping in flood relief efforts.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri yesterday urged Cabinet members to cancel their holidays and to return home to help manage the flood relief efforts.

Meanwhile, on the probable local infection case, he said it has been reported in Sarawak yesterday, involving a 38-year-old Chinese man who works in an engineering ompany in Sarawak for three years.

“Case samples were sent to IHCM (Institute of Health and Community Medicine), UNIMAS for genomic sequencing test and confirmed positive for the Omicron variant on Dec 23, 2021. The case has no history of travelling abroad in these three years,” Khairy added.

The cause of the infection has yet to be identified and investigations are still ongoing by the Kuching Divisional Health Office.

The case underwent the Covid-19 test on Dec 18 after suffering from fever and cough since Dec 13.

Results from the sample were found to be positive and the case was admitted to the quarantine centre in Sarawak General Hospital on Dec 20.

The case has also been fully vaccinated and his condition is stable.

A total of two contacts have been identified and have been instructed to be quarantined for a period of 14 days and the test results of the first sample for both of them were negative.