28 new variant cases detected from June 23 to 30

Twenty-eight cases involving new variants of the SARS-COV-2 virus were reported from June 23 to 30, of which 25 were variants of concern (VoC) and three, variants of interest (VoI).

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a statement, said of the 28 new variant cases, 18 were the Delta variant (B.1.617.2), five were the Beta variant (B.1.351), three were the Kappa variant (B.1.617.1) and two, the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7).

He said two cases of the Alpha variant were detected in Sabah, two cases of the Beta variant in Pahang, and one case each in Melaka, Terengganu and Selangor.

Two cases each of the Delta variant were detected in Pahang, Sabah, Melaka and Kedah, and four cases in Kuala Lumpur, while three each were detected in Labuan and Negeri Sembilan.

Three cases of the Kappa variant were recorded in Johor, he added.

Noor Hisham said the latest developments bring the cumulative cases of SARS-COV-2 virus categorised as VoC and VoI to 217.

“From the total number detected, 198 cases were VoC while 19 cases were VoI,” he said.