Kenya has confirmed three cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, joining nearly 80 other countries globally that have recorded cases of the new strain.

Health minister Mutahi Kagwe announced on Wednesday that authorities had detected the three cases among travelers who have been quarantined upon arrival in the country.

The latest development comes as Kenya has ramped up vaccination in efforts to contain further spread of the virus.

So far, 8,223,238 doses of vaccine have been administered in the country, with fully vaccinated people being 3,276,236.

By Tuesday, the country had recorded 256,815 COVID-19 infections with 5,349 fatalities.