CAIRO: Egypt has detected its first omicron cases, the Ministry of Health has announced.

It said that by monitoring arrivals from the countries in which the variant had appeared, and based on the results of the genetic sequencing test conducted for all detected positive cases, the variant was detected among 26 confirmed coronavirus cases.

It added that two of the three individuals were not suffering from any symptoms, while the third person was only showing mild symptoms. All three are currently in isolation and are receiving follow-ups from a medical team.

The monitoring and follow-up process did not result in the discovery of omicron cases at any airports or ports, the ministry said.

The ministry has started giving out booster shots to all citizens and residents who have been vaccinated for six months, prioritizing tourist governorates.

Egypt recorded 910 new coronavirus cases on Friday and 43 deaths, bringing the total number of detected cases to 373,509, including 310,749 recoveries and 21,277 deaths.