Iran reports its first case of Omicron coronavirus variant

FILE PHOTO: A health officials check the body temperature of worshipers during Tehran's first Friday prayer after a nearly two-year break due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tehran, Iran October 22, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has confirmed its first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the health ministry said on Sunday, while authorities urged Iranians to get their booster doses in the Middle East's worst-hit country.

Deputy Health Minister Kamal Heidari told state TV that the infected person was a middle-age Iranian man who recently returned to Iran from the United Arab Emirates.

"The necessary measures were taken to quarantine this person who lives in Tehran and those who were in contact with him," Heidari said. "This is the first case of Omicron (coronavirus) variant that has been identified in Iran."

Coronavirus deaths have reached 131,083, the health ministry said, while infected cases rose by 1,968 in the past 24 hours to 6,170,979 in the Islamic Republic.

More than 50 million of Iran's population of approximately 85 million have received two doses of coronavirus vaccine.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Jason Neely)