Skopje, 4 January 2021 (MIA) – Nine patients in North Macedonia, including eight in Skopje and one in Kochani, have tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus after their swabs were analyzed in a Public Health Institute laboratory, the Health Ministry said Tuesday. The lab, it said, analyzed 24 samples testing positive for COVID-19 after being taken from patients in Skopje, Kochani, Veles, Gevgelija and Bogdanci. “Of those tested, the Omicron variant was detected in nine patients, which is 37.5% of all positive samples. All patients whose results came back positive are from Skopje, except one in Kochani,” said the Health Ministry.