Egypt announces its first cases of Omicron variant

Egyptian health authorities said they have identified the country’s first cases of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Three people were found to have the variant among 26 travelers who tested positive for coronavirus at Cairo International Airport, the Health Ministry said in a statement late Friday. It didn’t say where the three came from.

The local Masrawy news outlet reported the three were among travelers from South Africa.

The ministry said two of the people infected showed no symptoms, while the third suffered from mild symptoms. The three have been isolated in a Cairo hospital, it said.

Authorities on Friday reported more than 900 confirmed new cases of coronavirus and 43 deaths over the previous 24 hours.

Egypt has reported a total 373,500 cases, including 21,277 fatalities, since the pandemic began.