Agency Report
Cyprus’ Health Ministry late Friday reported a sudden surge in infections caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of coronavirus following the identification of the first five cases at the beginning of this month.
According to the ministry, 28 new Omicron infections have been detected, 20 of which could be traced back to people who have been under scrutiny since Dec. 10 as “possible Omicron cases”.
The other eight Omicron cases were related to travel.
The five original cases were also related to travel and were identified after a group of high school pupils and teachers returned from an educational visit to Glasgow, Scotland, on Dec. 1.
The surge in new Omicron cases raised the alarm at the Health Ministry, as COVID-19 hospitals are already running close to capacity.
