PHNOM PENH, Dec 19 (NNN-AKP) – Cambodia confirmed two more cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, bringing the total number of such cases in the country to four, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said, in a statement, last night.
One patient is a 47-year-old Cambodian woman, arriving in the kingdom on Thursday from the United States, with a connecting flight in South Korea. The other is a 33-year-old Cambodian woman, taking a flight from France, passing through Singapore, before arriving in Cambodia on Friday.
“Upon landing at the Phnom Penh International Airport, the two women were given a rapid test, which indicated that they were positive for COVID-19, and their samples were then sent to the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia for further testing,” the statement said.
“The results released by the Pasteur Institute yesterday, showed that the two women were positive for the Omicron COVID-19 variant.”
The patients are currently being treated at a COVID-19 treatment facility in Phnom Penh.
The country reported the first case of the Omicron variant on Dec 14, on a pregnant Cambodian woman, returning from Ghana, and the second case on Dec 17, on an Iranian male tourist, travelling to the kingdom from Kenya.
The Omicron variant was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on Nov 24, and it was classified a “variant of concern” by WHO.– NNN-AKP
