The Ministry of Health has detected the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant on a 23-year-old Cambodian woman travelling from Ghana.

In a press release late on December 14, it said the woman – a resident of Svay Rieng province's Bavet town – travelled from the West African country with stopovers in Dubai and Bangkok, arriving in Cambodia on December 12.

The woman, who is 15 weeks pregnant, tested positive in a rapid test upon arrival. Her samples were then sent to the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which confirmed the presence of Omicron on December 14.