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Omicron: Singapore reports two imported cases of new Covid-19 variant
- Both cases arrived from Johannesburg and were isolated upon arrival on December 1, health ministry says
- Neither patient interacted with the community and no evidence of community transmission
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Singapore reported its first two cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant on Thursday, joining the fast growing list of countries that have spotted the highly mutated form of the virus that was first documented in South Africa.
The health ministry said both cases were imported; they had tested “preliminary positive” and been isolated upon arrival from Johannesburg on December 1.
In neither case had the patient interacted with the community and there was no evidence of community transmission, the ministry said.
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One of the cases involved a Singapore permanent resident who was flying from Mozambique and had transited through Johannesburg, while the other was a Singaporean who flew directly from South Africa. Both tested negative for Covid-19 before their flight.
Contact tracing was underway and 19 passengers on the same flight had tested negative, it added.
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More than 20 countries have confirmed cases linked to the new variant, including Australia, Britain, Germany and the United States. In Asia, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea have reported cases in recent days, most of which were imported infections.
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