France has detected the first case of the infection with the Omicron strain of the coronavirus in its overseas department of Reunion, located in the Indian Ocean, doctor Patrick Mavingui, a member of the Infectious Processes in Tropical Island Environments joint research unit, said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2021) France has detected the first case of the infection with the Omicron strain of the coronavirus in its overseas department of Reunion, located in the Indian Ocean, doctor Patrick Mavingui, a member of the Infectious Processes in Tropical Island Environments joint research unit, said on Tuesday.
According to the doctor, as of Sunday evening, the country's health authorities had six suspected cases of the new variant listed and monitored.
"One of six turned out to be positive," Mavingui told the Reunion la 1ere broadcaster.
The infected is a 53-year-old man who had visited Mozambique and South Africa as part of his business trip before returning to the Reunion island on November 20. Upon arrival, he tested negative for the coronavirus but his second test taken when symptoms emerged was positive. The symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, and cough, the doctor said.
According to Mavingui, the infected has been promptly quarantined along with his possible contacts. The rest of the suspected cases turned out to be negative, he added.
Last week, the World Health Organization classified the Omicron variant as one of concern, given the high number of mutations it contains and thus is potentially more transmissible and dangerous. The strain has already been confirmed in a number of countries worldwide, while several nations in southern Africa, where the variant was first detected, have been subject to numerous travel bans over the fear of the spread of the variant.
