No Omicron infection spotted in Finland, 3 more suspected

No case of Omicron coronavirus variant has been diagnosed in the country so far, said the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Wednesday.

The authorities did not find infection of Omicron variant in the two people, who were suspected earlier, said the THL in a press release.

The samples from both the were genetically sequenced, in order to determine their genetic makeup.

One was diagnosed to be infected with the Delta variant while the rest one will be tested again as the viral value in sample was too low to determine the infection.

Both the suspects arrived in the country from abroad.

However, three more suspected infections of the coronavirus variant Omicron were being investigated in the country.

To confirm the variant, the sample still needs to be [genetically] sequenced and it will take few days to get results in this regard.

The THL also said that It is quite likely that more suspected cases will be found in Finland.

Earlier, Sweden's Public Health Agency on Monday confirmed the country's first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The case was found when a traveler who last week returned to Sweden from South Africa was tested.

Besides Sweden, eight countries in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) had also reported confirmed cases by Monday, the ECDC said. These were Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal.