August 22, 2020

Malaysia has detected a strain of the new coronavirus that’s been found to be 10 times more infectious than the strain currently circulating.

Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said it could imply that present research on vaccines may be incomplete or ineffective against the strain. 

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said no evidence suggests that the mutation could cause more severe disease. 

The mutant strain D614G was found in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant owner returning from India and breaching his 14-day home quarantine. The man has since been sentenced to five months in prison and fined. The strain was also found in another cluster involving people returning from the Philippines.