Egypt has stepped up its viral containment measures following the detection of the country's first three cases of Omicron variant.

CGTN's Adel EL Mahrouky reported that these three cases were identified among 26 positive cases on Friday. They were all inbound travelers who arrived into the country through Cairo International Airport.

The Egyptian government has reinforced the public protective measures. Face masks are mandatory at all theaters, shopping malls and mass gathering events. Public offices have required all visitors and employees to be fully vaccinated. Besides, the capital city Cairo will ban all mass New Year's celebration events in an attempt to combat the spread of virus.

The health ministry also has begun a campaign for a non-mandatory booster shot. So far, 39 million citizens have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 18 million Egyptians are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, half a million children aged 12 -15 have been vaccinated since the government allowed that age category to get the COVID-19 shot earlier in December.