The origin of a mysterious Omicron cluster in Sydney has been linked to Nigeria, according to New South Wales health authorities, who documented six new cases of the virus variant for the last 24 hours leading up to 8 p.m. yesterday, local time.
In the last three weeks, NSW Health has discovered 31 Omicron cases, 20 of which are related to two schools and a rock climbing gym in Sydney’s southwest.
Since the first occurrence was identified last Thursday, officials have been baffled as to what caused the so-called Regents Park Omicron cluster.
The person who contracted the virus, a Regents Park Christian School student, had not traveled abroad or actually interact with anyone who had the virus.
NSW Health informed in a statement that the 20 cases were “believed” to be caused by a returned traveler who landed in Sydney from Doha on November 23 after spending time in Nigeria.
A variant known as Omicron was first identified in southern Africa, therefore, non-Australian citizens from eight countries have been banned from traveling to Australia. Quarantine is also required for anyone who has been to South Africa and arrives in Australia.
