In a statement, the department also reported 46 suspected cases of the new variant, noting that 13 confirmed cases of the new strain have been recorded in the Casablanca-Settat region, 11 in Rabat-Salé-Kenitra and 4 in Fez-Meknes.

"Since December 15, when the first case of Omicron was reported in the country, another 27 new cases have been recorded, bringing the total number of infections by the new variant to 28," the ministry pointed out.

Regarding the origin of confirmed cases, the Ministry said that 20 have been detected in seven epidemiological clusters, while eight are isolated cases. Five patients are children aged between 4 months and 13 years, noted the same source.

The Ministry also reported 46 suspected cases of the Omicron variant, including 14 in the Marrakech-Safi region.

Suspected cases are identified daily, particularly within epidemiological clusters or among close contact cases. They are submitted to PCR tests before being confirmed by genomic analysis.

The Ministry recalled that 381 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, which is the highest number of infections since the start of the intermediate phase, including 38 suspected Omicron cases.

In this regard, the Ministry warned against the worsening of the epidemiological situation, given the observed increase in the number of infection cases and family clusters.

The department urged all citizens to strictly comply with individual and collective preventive measures, including wearing protective masks correctly, frequent hand washing or disinfection, and physical distancing, while calling for getting vaccinated as soon as possible, particularly with a third dose.