The first case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected in Poland. The health ministry confirmed this morning that it was discovered in a test sample at an epidemiological station in the southern city of Katowice.
The sample was taken from a 30-year-old woman from Lesotho, who had attended the United Nations Digital Summit in Katowice, which took place between 6 and 10 December and was held in hybrid format.
ℹ️ Potwierdzamy wykrycie wirusa w wersji Omicron przez WSSE Katowice. Mutacja została stwierdzona w próbce pobranej od 30-letniej obywatelki Lesotho. Pacjentka jest w izolatorium i czuje się dobrze. @GIS_gov podjął niezbędne działania.
— Ministerstwo Zdrowia (@MZ_GOV_PL) December 16, 2021
The patient did not have any symptoms but took a pre-flight COVID-19 test before leaving the country after the summit. It came back positive and she is now in isolation but feeling fine, according to information from the Main Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS) reported by the health ministry.
During her time in Poland, she said she had stayed alone, was in contact with only two vaccinated people, and “used personal protective equipment all the time”. Moreover, the patient said she had ordered her meals to her hotel room.
The health ministry has also confirmed reports that China’s first Omicron case was found in a Polish teenager who had flown to China from Poland. She had tested negative before departure but then tested positive after arrival.
Poland has seen a surge in infections since early October, though numbers have begun to fall over the last week. Deaths, which lag behind infections, continue to rise, with yesterday’s 669 the highest since April.
After delaying taking steps against the surging fourth wave, the government has introduced new restrictions which came into force on Wednesday. It had earlier also banned flights from seven southern African countries, including Lesotho, in response to the emergence there of the Omicron variant.
As of Tuesday, the Omicron variant had been detected in 77 countries, including all of western Europe, according to the World Health Organisation. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control warned on Wednesday of a “very high risk” that the variant would dominate in Europe early next year.
For all of our coverage of the coronavirus epidemic in Poland, see our constantly updated archive of stories here.
Main image credit: Governor Tom Wolf/Flickr (under CC BY 2.0)
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
