Saudi Arabia reports first Omicron COVID-19 case
Saudi Arabia confirmed its first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, SPA reported on Wednesday. This is the first Omicron case reported in the Middle East and North Africa.
SPA, quoting a statement from the Kingdom’s health ministry, said authorities had isolated the person and those who were in contact with them.
The ministry said the person was a Saudi national who had travelled from a North African country, without giving further details.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that the heavily mutated Omicron variant was likely to spread internationally and poses a very high risk of infection surges that could have “severe consequences” in some places.
The Saudi ministry urged people to complete their vaccination and ordered travellers to respect self-isolation and testing rules.
Omicron was first reported on Nov. 24 in southern Africa, where infections have risen steeply. It has since spread to more than a dozen countries, many of which have imposed travel restrictions to try to seal themselves off.
Japan on Monday joined Israel and Morocco in saying it would completely close its borders.
