Middle East, Alps, and Northern Europe Also Affected... Omicron Spreads Worldwide

Traditional dancers are welcoming arriving tourists at Nadi Airport in the South Pacific island nation of Fiji on the 1st. Fiji has opened its doors to foreign tourists for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to AP News and others on the 1st (local time), the new COVID-19 variant Omicron has been detected in the Middle East's Saudi Arabia, as well as in Northern Europe’s Norway and Switzerland.

According to Saudi state-run SPA news agency, a Saudi health official stated that the Omicron variant was detected in a citizen returning from the North African region.

This is the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant among Gulf countries. However, the specific country the confirmed patient visited was not disclosed.

Norwegian authorities also confirmed on the same day that the Omicron variant was found in two COVID-19 positive cases.

They had traveled from South Africa and are currently recovering, the authorities added.

Since the 26th, Norway has mandated quarantine measures for arrivals from South Africa or neighboring countries.

In Switzerland, patients infected with the Omicron variant have also been reported.

The Federal Office of Public Health announced on Twitter on the night of the 30th (local time) that "two cases of Omicron variant infections have been confirmed in Switzerland."

Due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, the Swiss federal government postponed the inauguration ceremony of the new president, originally scheduled for December 16 in the Ticino canton, to next summer.

Meanwhile, the Omicron variant has currently spread from South Africa to more than 20 countries across all continents including North America, Europe, Japan, the Middle East, and Australia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.