OSLO, December 1, Reuters -- Norway has identified its first two cases of the new Omicron coronaviruses variant, the West Coast municipality of Oeygarden, and the health ministry said on Wednesday.
The two people who were infected had been on a trip to South Africa. Both of them were currently recovering from the disease, Oeygarden mayor Tom Georg Indrevik said in a statement.
The township of close to 40,000 people had recently seen a rise in infections of other variants of COVID - 19, and would tighten its local restrictions to control the outbreak, it said.
Norway has imposed a quarantine on any travellers arriving from South Africa or neighbouring countries, following a similar decision by neighbouring Denmark and many other countries around the world.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere has announced new measures to control the coronavirus, including requiring Norwegians to wear face masks in most crowded places and speeding up booster dose vaccinations. It would take weeks to determine if the Omicron variant could potentially reduce the effect of vaccines.