Paris | A first case of the Omicron variant has been confirmed in mainland France in a man residing in the Paris region, detected on his return from a trip to Nigeria, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) announced on Thursday.
The man, unvaccinated against COVID-19, whose age is between 50 and 60 years, did not show any symptoms at the time of the test carried out when he got off the plane on November 25 and who tested positive , according to the same source.
His wife who accompanied him on this trip, also unvaccinated, “has tested positive for COVID-19 and sequencing is underway to verify whether it is also the Omicron variant,” said the ARS. The entourage was tested and placed in solitary confinement.
The couple have remained in solitary confinement at their home since arriving in the country.
A third person living under the same roof was tested on Thursday to determine if they were contaminated and, if so, if they are carriers of the variant. This third person is not vaccinated either, said the ARS.
Until then, only one positive case for the Omicron variant had been identified in France, in Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean.
But the government spokesman on Wednesday reported “13 suspected cases of the Omicron variant in the territory”, expecting proven cases “in the next few hours or days”.
Faced with the threat of the Omicron variant, France announced Wednesday a tightening of the conditions of access to its territory by imposing in particular a negative test for all travelers, even vaccinated, from a country outside the European Union.