A new version of the coronavirus called omicron, was discovered in southern Africa, and now it is also present in Romania after two patients returning from South Africa were shown to have this variant of the pathogen.
Authorities said on Saturday night a 48-year-old woman in Brasov and a 59-year-old man in Valsui, eastern Romania, have been shown the presence of the omicron. The two people are quarantined and asymptomatic.
They both came home from Johannesburg with the military plane that the Romanian authorities had repatriated their citizens stranded in South Africa on 30th November. As of Thursday, health minister Alexandru Rafila made it probable that the two individuals were infected with the omicron, but the results of sequential analyzes to identify the virus variant were only available on Saturday. On Tuesday, a third Romanian citizen returning from South Africa, an athlete from Nagybánya, also tested positive for a coronavirus, and the results of the sequential analysis are still awaited. Following the announcement by the health authorities, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said he would convene a working meeting with key decision-makers to deal with the epidemic on Sunday to discuss the measures needed as a result of the emergence of the omicron variant.
MTI
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