Son Espases Microbiology laboratory has confirmed the first omicron case in the Balearic Islands via PCR test, according to the Ministry of Health.
A woman who travelled to Mallorca from South Africa and made a stopover in Frankfurt tested positive for coronavirus in the last mandatory test on her journey.
The Ministry of Health established screening tests for travellers from South Africa because of high transmission of the new variant.
The woman and her companion were tested when they arrived Frankfurt and both tests were negative and they were cleared to fly to Mallorca. At Son Sant Joan Airport, healthcare personnel gave them antigen tests and the woman was positive. The two were transferred to Son Espases Hospital where they underwent a specific PCR test to confirm whether the woman had contracted the omicron variant.
They were put in isolation while they waited for the results, which confirmed that the woman was positive and her companion was negative.
The woman is said to be in good health and is quarantining at her home. It’s not known whether she is fully vaccinated. Her companion is also in quarantine, despite testing negative.
The Ministry of Health has updated its document on the 'Strategy for Early Detection, Surveillance and Control of Covid-19' to state that vaccinated people who’ve been in contact with someone diagnosed with omicron must be quarantined, as well as those who are infected.
"Confirmation of the variant is not usually available at the time of diagnosis, so this measure should also be applied to cases where the omicron variant is suspected, either via specific PCR or because the case is part of an outbreak that includes omicron cases,” said the Ministry of Health.