Seven cases identified so far

• No contacts were traced and there is no threat due to the new detection
• One of the newly detected patients was a Sri Lankan while the other two were foreigners

Three new cases of the Omicron variant were reported yesterday in Sri Lanka, COVID-19 Coordinator, Director of Technical Services of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Anwar Hamdani said.  

He told Daily Mirror that one of the newly detected patients was a Sri Lankan while the other two were foreigners.  

“They had arrived in Sri Lanka some time back. However, no contacts were traced and there is no threat due to the new detection,” he said.  

Meanwhile, Dr. Jude Jayamaha, Consultant Virologist of the Medical Research Institute told a news briefing yesterday that two of the patients had arrived from Sudan while the other patient is a returnee from Tanzania.  
Accordingly, the toll of Omicron patients identified in Sri Lanka increased to seven as of yesterday (22).  
The Health authorities are of the opinion that Omicron cases could increase in future and thus, raised the importance of receiving the booster dose without further delay.   

The first patient carrying the Omicron variant of  COVID-19 was identified in Sri Lanka on December 03. The patient was a Sri Lankan citizen who had returned from South Africa on November 24.

• Health authorities say that Omicron cases could increase  in future and raised the importance of receiving the booster dose