Health authorities in the Czech Republic are investigating a suspected case of the Omicron variant in a traveler who has recently arrived from Namibia, the Czech National Institute of Public Health said in a statement emailed to CNN Saturday.
The institute said that that a PCR test indicated the infection could have been caused by the Omicron variant, but added that a full sequencing of the sample needs to be completed in order to confirm this. It said the sequencing work is underway.
If confirmed, it would be the first case of the new and potentially more transmissible variant in the Czech Republic.
The Czech government has also imposed a travel ban on foreign travelers from eight African nations. As of midnight local time Nov. 27, foreign travelers from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique will not be allowed to enter the Czech Republic, according to the government website.
Czech citizens and permanent residents returning to the Czech Republic are allowed to come but will be required to go into isolation for 10 days.