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Coronavirus pandemic

Belarus records first Omicron cases — Health Ministry

It is reported that all the patients have a mild form of the infection

MINSK, December 29. /TASS/. The first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been recorded in Belarus, the country’s Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Experts from the Health Ministry’s Republican Research and Practical Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology identified the new Omicron coronavirus variant in four samples collected from patients," the statement reads. "These are the first cases of the new strain recorded in Belarus," the ministry added.

According to the statement, "all the patients have a mild form of the infection."

A total of 696,220 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Belarus since the onset of the pandemic and a total of 5,543 coronavirus patients have died. Belarusian Deputy Health Minister and Chief State Sanitary Doctor Alexander Tarasenko said on December 26 that the country’s healthcare system was dealing effectively with the coronavirus pandemic.

On November 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) named the B.1.1.529 coronavirus strain discovered in southern Africa after the Greek letter omicron. According to the WHO, "this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning." Omicron cases have already been detected in more than 110 countries, including Russia, with the first patients identified in southern Africa.

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