First Omicron variant case confirmed in Republic

By PA

The first case of the Omicron variant has been found in the Republic, health officials have said.

It is the first confirmed case on the island of Ireland.

The Department of Health said the case was associated with travel.

Health officials said sequencing was carried out on eight samples and one was identified as Omicron.

Members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) confirmed the development today.

The first Omicron case has been confirmed in the Republic.

It is the first confirmed case on the island of Ireland.https://t.co/wn2oDVPuq6

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) December 1, 2021

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said:

“The Nphet Epidemiological Surveillance Team has been meeting regularly over the course of the last week to monitor the situation relating to the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and, today, we are confirming that one case has been identified in Ireland.

“In the first instance, the current advice remains that all non-essential travel to or from these states should be avoided.

“If you have travelled from any of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe to Ireland since November 1 you should isolate and present for PCR testing, regardless of symptom status.

“The key focus for all of us must be to continue to supress the current wave of infection that is driven by the Delta variant of Covid-19.

“We know how to break the chains of transmission of this virus.

“The measures with which we are all so familiar have worked against previous variants of Covid-19, they can successfully supress transmission of the Delta variant and we are optimistic that they will work against the Omicron variant.”

Cillian de Gascun, director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory and member of Nphet, said that sequencing was carried out on eight samples and one was identified as Omicron.