Copenhagen : Denmark has registered 18 deaths linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus since it emerged in the country, media reported on Tuesday, citing data from the Statens Serum Institute.

According to the official broadcaster TV2, the Institute published the death toll from Omicron for the first time. The fatalities were among the 56,000 Omicron cases registered from November 21-December 28, 2021. Other variants of the virus claimed a total of 100 lives over the same period, the Institute said.

The Omicron strain was first detected in Denmark in late November of the last year, becoming the dominant variant in the country over December. However, according to the Institute, the hospitalization rate for Omicron patients has almost half compared to that of the Delta strain.

To date, Denmark has confirmed over 840,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 3,000 related deaths.