Two thirds of the new Covid-19 cases which were sequenced by the health authorities in Malta were of the Omicron variant.

This was revealed by Deputy Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne in a tweet published on Monday.

On the 23rd of December, the health authorities confirmed the first two cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant in Malta. Since then, hundreds of new infections are being registered daily.

Genome sequencing is done to determine which strain of the virus is present. Random samples are taken from positive tests. The results take up to five days to be produced.

The process of sequencing by the health authorities occurs randomly in order to identify new coronavirus strains.

In the tweet, Fearne urged people to take the Covid-19 booster vaccine, saying that “vaccination with the booster doses remains vitally important.”

The Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa in November.