Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. General Director of the National Center for Communicable Diseases Ts. Bilegtsaikhan today, January 7, reported that as a result of the genomic sequencing, Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 was confirmed in 12 samples in the country.

“Ten peacekeepers, and two Mongolians who arrived on Istanbul-Ulaanbaatar and Bangkok-Ulaanbaatar flights, were confirmed to have been infected with Omicron variant. This NGS test (next-generation sequencing) is conducted on few samples chosen from multiple samples. Further tests are being planned for suspected cases of Omicron detected by PCR in domestic and imported infections. Conducting tests through the NGS validation takes 7-10 days.”

Ten of these patients are currently experiencing mild illness. Close contacts are being identified and tested, said Mr. Bilegtsaikhan.

Since November 27, Mongolia has received 109 flights. COVID-19 cases were detected in 54 flights.