With rising concern over the new COVID-19 variant ‘Omicron,’ a senior public health official in Qatar has confirmed that no cases of the ‘highly transmissible’ variant have been detected in the country.

Speaking to Al Rayyan TV yesterday, director of the Department of Health Protection and Control of Communicable Diseases at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Dr Hamad Eid al-Romaihi said, MoPH has been monitoring all COVID-19 cases and so far Omicron has not been found in Qatar.

The health official urged eligible citizens and residents in Qatar to get the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, stating that so far the turnout has been impressive with over 35,000 doses administered just this week.

He highlighted that countries across the world have been re-implementing stricter measures, particularly in the wake of the new variant.

“The situation in Qatar, thankfully, is stable. This is due to the high vaccination coverage rate, of more than 85 percent,” he mentioned. This has helped the country limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus with the booster dose further strengthening its efforts.

Dr al-Romaihi further asked the public not to pay heed to rumors about vaccination, confirming that no serious complications or cases have been reported.

"The third dose has the same components as the first and second doses. Take information only from the official source, which is MoPH," he stressed.

The Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa last week, has been reportedly found in other countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hong Kong, among others.

Earlier, this week, Qatar Airways announced that it will not accept passengers from five African countries, following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

---

Make sure to check out our social media to keep track of the latest content.

Instagram - @qatarliving

Twitter - @qatarliving

Facebook - Qatar Living

YouTube - qatarlivingofficial

Source: Gulf Times