The first six cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Turkey, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday, according to the state television network TRT Haber.
Five of the infections were found in Izmir (Izmir) and another in Istanbul, Koca said, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
According to the minister, the patients “did not need to be admitted to hospitals”, as “they had very mild symptoms” and “did not face any serious problems”.
Two weeks ago, Turkey closed its borders to travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe to prevent the spread of the most contagious Omicron variant in its territory.
The first cases of Omicron were recorded a day after Turkey surpassed nine million cases of the virus.
The Turkish Ministry of Health also announced that a total of 19,255 cases of SARS-CoV-2 were confirmed in the previous 24 hours after 349,221 tests, with the registered infections reaching 9,022,223. Cases were last reduced compared to October, when they were confirmed at around 30,000 per day.
The deaths of 191 patients due to complications of COVID-19 increased the death toll to 78,969 dead until yesterday, March 11, 2020, when the new coronavirus pandemic broke out in Turkish territory.
At the front of the immunization campaign, as of January 14, 2021, 50.89 million people have been fully vaccinated – out of a total population of 83 million – while 56.5 million have received the first dose, according to official data.
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