The Scottish government has confirmed that four cases have been identified in the Lanarkshire region, while two were found in the Greater Glasgow-Clyde area.
Officials confirmed six cases of Omicron Covid in Scotland.
This comes just days after the UK reported its first three cases.
This morning, the Scottish government issued this statement: “Six cases of the COVID-19 omicron variant have been identified in Scotland.
“Four cases have been found in the Lanarkshire region, while two were identified in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.”
At the weekend Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there had been two cases identified in England, in Brentwood, Essex, and Nottingham.
Scientists around the world are scrambling to find out whether the new variant, first identified by scientists in South Africa, is more deadly or if it evades vaccines.
Over the weekend Omicron cases were also confirmed in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Australia.
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Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced Saturday that face masks will be reinstated in shops and public transport.
Later it was confirmed that Tuesday, tomorrow, would be the effective date for the new rule.
He said that Omicron-related contacts would be ordered for isolation for ten days regardless of whether they were vaccinated.
Anyone arriving from any part of the world to the UK will need to pass a PCR test the second day. This is in order to determine if they have a negative result.
Scotland’s Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “This will be a worrying time for the six people now identified as having the new variant. All of them will be provided with expert support, and Public Health Scotland will intensify contact tracing in all instances.
“This will help establish the origin of the virus and any further individuals they have come into contact with in recent weeks.
“There is still much to learn about the Omicron variant. Questions remain about its severity, transmissibility and response to treatments or vaccines and scientists are working at pace to provide additional information. Until more is known we must be cautious and do everything we can to minimise the risk of spreading infection.
“We have already taken steps and are aligning with the new border restrictions being introduced by the UK Government which will require fully vaccinated arrivals to take a PCR test within two days of arrival and to self-isolate until a negative result is received.”
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