KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has confirmed today that an individual here, with a travel history to the United Kingdom, has tested positive for the B117 Covid-19 strain.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the individual, had tested positive for Covid-19 on Dec 28, and was isolated for further treatment.
"The Health Ministry would like to inform that one case involving the Covid-19 B117 UK variant or 202012/01 spike protein mutation has been detected in Malaysia today.
"Since October 2020, the ministry has monitored all travellers who have returned from countries that have reported cases of this mutated variant, including from the UK, Netherlands, Singapore, Turkey, Philippines and India.
"As of Jan 11, there has been no outbreak in the country linked to the UK B117 variant," he said in a statement tonight.
Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry through the Institute of Medical Research and the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre would continue to monitor the mutation and would inform the public from time to time.
He said although the B117 mutation did not cause bad symptoms, it could spread faster and easier.
"The public is adivsed to always practise personal hygiene by washing their hands, putting on a face mask in public areas, and maintaining physical distancing at all times."
On Dec 20, the United Kingdom confirmed that a new highly-infectious coronavirus strain (B117 strain) had surfaced in the country. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also said the strain was found in small numbers in Australia, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
This prompted over 40 countries to suspend travel from Britain to curb the transmission of the new strain.