BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Federation has recorded its first cases of the new Omicron Variant of the Coronavirus.
That announcement was made yesterday (Dec. 30) by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws, at an emergency media brief where it was disclosed that two of the three samples sent overseas for testing returned positive for the variant.
According to the CMO, based on the data they have received thus far, the new variant is currently in circulation within the Federation.
St. Kitts and Nevis joins Barbados in announcing the presence of the new strain of the virus yesterday.
The Federation has seen a drastic increase in the number of cases as the CMO disclosing that 103 cases have been diagnosed within the span of one week. She noted that this spike highlights the start of the fourth wave of COVID-19 in the Federation.
According to health officials, the Omicron strain of the virus is less severe than the other forms but it can be easily transmitted.
The strain has also been detected in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Bermuda.
