Palestine reports 5 new cases of omicron variant

Palestine recorded five new cases of the omicron variant of coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total number to 23.

Kamal al-Shakhra, spokesman of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, told reporters that 23 cases were reported in the West Bank city of Ramallah which  included 9 Palestinians returning from abroad and others who were infected in the West Bank.

"All of them are stable and don't suffer from any severe symptoms," al-Shakhra said, adding that all the cases are under home quarantine followed by the health ministry's medical teams.

Al-Shakhra called on the Palestinian citizens to abide by all the precautionary measures, mainly wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and getting vaccine shots.

Afif Atawneh, chief of the coronavirus department in the health ministry, told Xinhua that the Palestinian territories are on the verge of a high rate of infection with the new variant's spread.

On Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry recorded three more fatalities from the COVID-19 and 248 new coronavirus cases in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours. 

Palestinian health authorities reported the first three cases of the new variant on Dec. 23.

The World Health Organization on Friday warned that the omicron variant was spreading significantly faster than the delta strain.