Becomes Third Country In West Africa To Report Omicron Variant, Senegal Immediately Announces Three Cases Of Infection

Illustration of COVID-19 vaccination in Africa. (Wikimedia Commons/WHO/Blink Media/Nana Kofi Acquah)

JAKARTA - Senegal announced the first case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, becoming the third west African country to report infection with the new variant, after previously Nigeria and Ghana.

The announcement of the first case was made by the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training (IRESSEF), which is one of Senegal's approved laboratories for COVID-19 testing.

The case was detected Friday from a 58-year-old man who arrived in Senegal on November 11. 22 by air from a country in the sub-region, the institute said Sunday, quoted by the Associated Press Dec. 6.

The man is known to have received the COVID-19 vaccine in April using the AstraZeneca vaccine, as well as in June with Pfizer.

According to the institute, the patient stayed in the capital, Dakar, in a hotel and took part in the demonstration which was attended by nearly 300 people. He has been isolated and as of Sunday was asymptomatic, the institute said.

The Pasteur Institute in Dakar on Sunday announced two more omicron cases hours later, saying it was on travelers leaving Dakar.

The cases include a 28-year-old man who tested positive on November 11. As well as a 29-year-old woman staying at a hotel in Dakar who tested positive on December 1.

The Pasteur Institute added on Twitter, "of the 22 sequences obtained for the period, the Delta variant remains the majority."

To note, last week President Macky Sall asked people to respect precautions. The news comes as Senegal enters the tourist season and is due to host South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. As well as holding the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security on Monday.