Fact Check : Omicron Variant Detected In Perak?!

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Did the Malaysia Health Ministry just detect the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Perak?

Take a look at the viral video + message, and find out what the FACTS really are!

 

Claim : Omicron Variant Detected In Perak!

People are sharing this video of an Astro Awani news report (in Bahasa Malaysia) together with a message claiming that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was detected in Perak.

Watch the video and LISTEN carefully. And then head to the next section for the facts!

Omicron virus detected in Perak. Be careful everyone

First South African variant detected in Perak

[/su_note]

 

Truth : Omicron Variant Not Detected In Perak Or Malaysia!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : B.1.351 Is Beta Variant, Not Omicron

The fake news creator used an old Astro Awani news report that refers to the South African variant – B.1.351.

B.1.351 is the Beta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, NOT the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529).

Fact #2 : Omicron Not Detected In Malaysia Yet

On 29 November 2021, the Health Director-General Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah labelled the claim as false.

He also said that no cases of the Omicron variant has yet been detected in Malaysia.

“Not true. No cases been detected yet in Malaysia.” he said.

Fact Check : Omicron Variant Detected In Perak?!

Fact #3 : KKM Confirms It Is Fake News

Despite being told that it’s fake news, it looks like people still believe that there are Omicron variant cases in Perak.

So KKM issued a formal notice confirming that the viral message and video are FAKE NEWS. Here is our English translation :

The Malaysia Ministry of Health (KKM) denies the authenticity of the viral message that claims that the Omicron variant which is the latest COVID-19 variant with 32 spike protein mutations which is twice as many as the Delta variant was detected in the state of Perak.

KKM explains that no case of Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Malaysia at this moment.

The public is advised to stop spreading information from unverified sources that can create worry and distress in society, and instead refer to the official KKM social media for genuine information.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS! Share this fact check with your family and friends!

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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