Lebanon Detects 1st Two Cases of Omicron Variant

Lebanese Health Ministry reported, on Thursday, the country’s first two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in passengers tested upon arrival at the airport.

In a press conference, Health Minister Firass Abiad stated that two cases, detected in airport testing, were confirmed to be of the Omicron variant.

Abiad pointed out that both passengers had flown in from the African continent and had been placed in quarantine.

In the same vein, the minister added that Lebanon recorded 1,994 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, one of the country’s highest figures for a single day since the start of the pandemic.

He also voiced concerns over the enormous increase in the number of infections, adding that the situation in hospitals has become critical.

Last month, South Africa was the first to report the new B.1.1.529 strain of COVID-19. Later, World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new strain to be a variant of concern, renaming it Omicron.

In South Africa, the strain “has been detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection, suggesting that this variant may have a growth advantage,” the WHO said.