Zambia records Omicron cases as new strain spreads

New COVID-19 variant spreads to more than 40 countries, sending alarms and triggering travel curbs.

Zambia has detected its first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, as the “highly transmissible” new variant spread to more than 40 countries since it was first detected in South Africa last week.

The country’s health ministry said on Saturday that three people tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week. It added that two of the three infected had travelled abroad recently. A woman who had not travelled abroad had mild symptoms, it said.