Kosovo's health ministry said on Sunday it had registered its first nine cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the Balkan country.
The ministry said that out of 22 people who tested positive to COVID-19 in the past 10 days, nine had been identified as Omicron variant.
The ministry said that out of the nine, two people came from the United States, two from the UK, one from France and four other cases were Kosovars who have not travelled outside the country.
The ministry added that "the Omicron variant is expected to worsen the epidemiologic situation in the country."
Kosovo has seen a relatively calm period in the past weeks with only 12 positive cases and one death on Sunday.