Thailand confirms 1st case of Omicron variant

Thai health authorities announced on Monday that a first-ever case of the Omicron Covid variant has been detected in the country.

The 35-year-old US traveller, flying from Spain by transiting through Dubai, entered Thailand with a negative RT-PCR test, but his on-arrival test was confirmed to be positive on December 1 and further testing confirmed the presence of the new variant, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Public Health as saying.

According to the Ministry, the passenger, currently under treatment at a hospital in Bangkok, was asymptomatic, and there has been no high-risk contacts as the patient has taken strict precautions during his trip.

On Monday, Thailand reported 4,000 new Covid-19 cases and 22 deaths, raising the total number of infections to more than 2.14 million while that of cumulative fatalities to 20,966, according to the Ministry. - IANS