A 48-year-old Ecuadorian who traveled to South Africa to do research is the first confirmed case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ecuador, Public Health Minister Ximena Garzón reported at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to the information provided by the head of the Ministry of Health, on December 10 the patient returned to Quito, but before he made a stopover in Panama.
Despite having two negative tests and a vaccination certificate, the man presented symptoms on the way back to Ecuador, for which a PCR test was performed, which was positive, Garzón explained.
The person is in isolation and has not presented serious symptoms, reported from the Minsa.
Two companions of the positive patient were negative in the covid-19 test but are kept in mandatory preventive isolation.