More than two-thirds of new COVID-19 cases being detected in Malta are down to the Omicron variant, Health Minister Chris Fearne revealed on Monday.

“Two thirds (67 per cent) of new COVID cases currently sequenced in Malta are now Omicron. Vaccination with booster doses remains vitally important,” Fearne said in a tweet.

Just days before Christmas, the health authorities had announced that two cases of the variant of concern had been detected but no further updates were provided on the prevailing situation.

The update finally came after Times of Malta on Monday published a story regarding the silence from the health authorities. 

In most countries, the new variant has outcompeted its predecessor, the Delta variant, with one case of Omicron sparking at least three other new infections on average.

And like several countries, Malta registered record numbers of COVID-19 in the last few days.

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