Libya reports first community exposure to Omicron

The National Center for Disease Control has confirmed the country’s first two cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

In a statement Wednesday, the NCDC called on citizens to get vaccinated, avoid gatherings, and wear masks to counter the rapid spread of the virus.

For his part, Haider Al-Sayeh, Director of NCDC, said that the confirmed cases had no recent travel history, meaning that there is a community flow of the epidemic. Both cases were detected in Tripoli and are under follow-up, he added.

The NCDC assured the availability of vaccines in various regions and cities of Libya, where the Drug Control recently released a shipment of Pfizer vaccine estimated at more than one million and 187 thousand doses after undergoing tests.

The World Health Organisation has classified Omicron as a “worrisome” of SARS-CoV-2, saying it contains several mutations that may affect the behaviour of the virus.