SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Kurdistan Region has recorded five cases of Omicron variant of the coronavirus, health minister said on Thursday.
Minister of Health Saman Barzinji said the five cases were recorded among members of one family who live in Duhok city.
One of the members of the family who was returned from abroad was infected with the Omicron variant of the virus, he added.
“The other four members were also infected,” he said in a press conference.
The World Health Organization said last month that Omicron was spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, but it was unclear if this was due to the virus’ ability to evade immunity, its inherent increased transmissibility or a combination of both.
As of Wednesday, the Kurdistan Region had recorded 381,597 cases of COVID-19, including 7,132 deaths, according to the health ministry.
*This story was updated at 2:21 p.m. EBL time
