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Maldives detects first case of Omicron coronavirus variant

Lamya Abdulla
06 December 2021, MVT 05:44
Gene sequencing conducted at MedTechm — Photo: MedTech
Lamya Abdulla
06 December 2021, MVT 05:44

Health Protection Agency (HPA) announced on Sunday that they have recorded Maldives’ first case of the new Covid variant Omicron.

They agency said this was confirmed after conducting genomic sequencing on a Covid positive tourist.

HPA confirms Maldives’ first Omicron case

They additionally stated they would update as they receive further developments.

Mihaaru News reported that the patient was a tourist from South Africa and the sample was taken on 27th of last month.

Omicron variant of Covid-19 was initially identified by South African scientists. Since then it had been reported that Omicron variant has been in European nations such as Sweden as well, before it was discovered in South Asia.

Maldives banned travel from seven African nations last week when news regarding the Omicron variant was disclosed to the world.

World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday that there had not been any recorded deaths due to the Omicron virus.

Ever since the first Covid case was recorded in Maldives, there has been 92,211 confirmed Covid cases in the nation with 1,739 active cases. Maldives have 254 Covid deaths so far.

The nation also has a high vaccination rate with 395,907 people having received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine while 364,592 people are fully vaccinated. Maldives has a population of approximately 500,000.

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