Iran reports first case of COVID-19 Omicron variant

Tehran [Iran], December 19 (ANI/Xinhua): Iran identified the first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, Mohammad Mehdi Gooya, the head of management center of infectious diseases of Iran’s Health Ministry, announced on Sunday.
An Iranian traveller to one of its neighbouring countries, where this strain is now prevalent, was tested positive with the disease after returning to Iran, Gooya told reporters.
“Currently, only one case of this strain has been identified in Iran and two cases are suspected of this disease. The situation of these (two) people are being studied and the results will be made public as soon as the final test results are announced,” he added.
On Sunday Iran’s Health Ministry reported 1,968 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country’s total infections to 6,170,979.
The pandemic also claimed 50 lives in the past 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 131,083, said the update by the Iranian ministry.
A total of 6,004,277 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 2,876 remain in intensive care units, according to the ministry.
By Sunday, 59,126,764 Iranians have received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 50,340,978 of them have taken two jabs. Meanwhile, 3,772,199 people in the country have received the third dose of the vaccine. (ANI/Xinhua)