Saudi Arabia Reports First Omicron Case... First Among Gulf Countries

On the 6th of last month (local time), visitors at the Winter Wonderland amusement park in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, are enjoying various rides.

It was reported on the 1st (local time) by dpa and AP news agencies, citing Saudi state-run SPA news agency, that the new COVID-19 variant Omicron has been detected in Saudi Arabia. The agency stated that this is the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant among Gulf countries.

SPA news agency quoted a Saudi Ministry of Health official saying that the Omicron variant was detected in a citizen returning from the North African region.

However, the official did not specify the exact country the confirmed case had visited. The Ministry of Health official also added that close contacts of the confirmed case are currently in quarantine.

The Omicron variant has now spread to more than 20 countries across all continents, starting from South Africa to North America, Europe, Japan, the Middle East, and Australia.