By Reuters Staff

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       FILE PHOTO: A man walks through the colonial zone, after state of emergency decreed by government on last Thursday , as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ricardo Rojas

       SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - The Dominican Republic has identified its first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the health ministry of the Caribbean country said on Saturday.

       In a statement on Twitter, the ministry said Omicron had been identified in a person with mild symptoms who had arrived in the country from South Africa.

       The ministry also said it had later been informed by Chilean authorities that a person who traveled to Chile from the Dominican Republic had tested positive for Omicron.

       Other potential cases of Omicron are under investigation, the ministry added.

       Reporting by Ezequiel Abiu Lopez; Editing by Dan Grebler

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