Omicron Now In The Caribbean Region

BY NAN STAFF WRITER

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. Dec. 9, 2021: The Omicron coronavirus variant is now in the Caribbean region.

Both Bermuda and Cuba have reported that persons who travelled to their have tested positive for the new variant.

Bermuda Health Minister Kim Wilson said that the active case — one of 31 — came in from overseas and all close contacts were in quarantine. The case was identified on Sunday from an arrival test But Wilson did not say where the person came from.

Cuba yesterday reported the second case for the region. The Omicron coronavirus variant there was detected in a person who had traveled from Mozambique, Cuban state media agency ACN reported late on Wednesday.

The traveler, a health worker that resides in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, returned to the island on Nov. 27 and tested positive for COVID-19 the following day, according to the ACN report.

Cuban health officials identified 18 people the traveler may have been in contact with since arriving in Cuba, but all were asymptomatic and had tested negative for the virus, the report said.

Cuba, a Caribbean island nation whose economy hinges on tourism, sharply eased entry requirements for tourists in mid-November following a successful inoculation drive with domestically developed vaccines. Infections from COVID-19 have dropped off to 1% of their peak, according to a Reuters tally.

Cuba nonetheless tightened restrictions again last week on passengers from certain African countries and others where Omicron had been detected amid the global scare over the new variant.

(Reuters contributed to this report)