DILI, 03 january 2022 (TATOLI) – Timor-Leste’s Health Authorities registers another eight new cases of the omicron variant in the country.
Vice Coordinator of the Pillar 3 of the Ministry of Health, Filipe de Neri Machado said the National Health Laboratory sent samples of the 15 omicron suspects for further testing at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia, on january 28, and eight of them were tested positive for the Covid-19 omicron variant.
“National Health Laboratory sent samples of the Omicron suspects to Australia on january 28, and the lab result has revealed that we have eight cases of omicron variant,” Machado told reporters at a press conference held in Caicoli, in Dili, on thursday.
On wednesday (02/02), the Ministry of Health had revealed that of the eight samples of the omicron suspects that the National Health Laboratory sent for further testing at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia, last year, two have tested positive for the omicron variant.
“Samples from the eight omicron suspects that we sent to Australia last year, two of them were tested positive for Covid-19 Omicron variant on december 29,” said General Director of Timor-Leste’s Health Services Delivery, Odete da Silva Viegas, at SAMES Central Store in Dili, on wednesday.
Thus, Timor-Leste has so far recorded a total of 10 cases of Omicron variant in the country.
Machado said ten people who have been infected with the fast-spreading of the omicron variant are currently under self-isolation.
He said Pillar 3 would carry out contact tracing to test the family members of those who had been infected with the omicron variant.
Machado believes that there is a possibility of the local transmission of the Omicron variant might have taken place in Timor-Leste.
In the past 24 hours, Timor-Leste recorded 41 new COVID-19 cases, of which 40 cases were detected in Dili, and only one case was identified in Baucau municipality.
Yesterday, the National Health Laboratory (LNS) has performed 384 PCR tests in Dili, including 33 via sentinel surveillance, 209 through contact tracing, 116 via random screening, 25 for the international travel authorization, and one in quarantines.
Currently, seven people with Covid-19 are in the hospital of which five are in mild condition and two have moderate respiratory illness symptoms.
Since Timor-Leste’s outbreak began in april 2020, the country has recorded 20.177 cases, 19.746 recoveries, and 122 deaths.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Rafy Belo
