Hong Kong reports 2 additional cases of Omicron COVID variant

Hong Kong on Monday reported two additional cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19.

According to Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP), a 62-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman arrived in Hong Kong from Britain together on December 10 and tested positive upon arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport, Xinhua reported.

As per Xinhua, both patients had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and had been asymptomatic. The whole genome sequencing confirmed that the cases carried the Omicron strain.

"So far, seven cases involving Omicron have been detected in Hong Kong. As they were all detected at the Hong Kong International Airport restricted area or at a designated quarantine hotel, there has not been a spread of the Omicron variant in the community," said a spokesperson for the CHP.

"The CHP will adopt the most stringent prevention and control measures to prevent the mutant strain from entering the local community," the spokesperson said.

Apart from the aforementioned cases, two of the omicron cases are related to South Africa, two cases are related to Nigeria and the remaining one is related to the United States, Xinhua reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO), on November 27, named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as 'Omicron'.This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning.

As per the WHO, the new Omicron coronavirus strain found in 63 countries will surpass Delta in spreading speed.

( With inputs from ANI )

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