So far, only one case of the Omicron coronavirus variant has been confirmed in the country, the Ministry of Health announced on Thursday, and denied the news about a new confirmed case of this strain of coronavirus in Struga.
“By sequencing the Sars-CoV-2 virus, so far the Omicron strain has been detected in only one patient who returned to the country from the UK some time ago,” the Ministry of Health said Thursday, pointing out that the coronavirus strain is detected only and by sequencing only, while PCR testing may be only an indication but not a confirmation that a patient is infected with the Omicron strain of COVID-19.
So far, S-gene dropout has been detected on PCR tests in three patients positive for COVID-19, but no sequencing has been performed, i.e. there is no confirmation that they are infected with the Omicron. The tests were performed in a private hospital, and they are patients from Prilep, Veles and Struga. An epidemiological survey was conducted on the patients and in accordance with the protocols, the persons they were in contact with were placed in isolation,” the press release added.
