ALGIERS, Dec 15 (NNN-APS) – Algerian health authorities, yesterday, confirmed the detection of the first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, local media reported.
A foreign national, who entered Algeria on Dec 10, tested positive on his arrival at the International Airport of Algiers. His sample, which was sent to the Institut Pasteur d’Alger, was confirmed yesterday as the Omicron variant of the COVID-19.
Fawzi Derrar, acting director of the Institut Pasteur d’Alger, told reporters that, the foreign national was put under quarantine upon his arrival in Algeria.
According to the WHO, the Omicron variant, which was first detected in Southern Africa, has been detected in at least 65 countries around the world.
Health authorities in Algeria, yesterday reported 280 new COVID-19 cases, and four new fatalities, over the past 24 hours, bringing the total cases in the country to 213,288, and the death toll to 6,155.– NNN-APS
