Nine confirmed COVID-19 cases of omicron variant currently on mainland France

A couple including a woman wearing a protective face mask walk on a bridge over the Seine river near the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris. (File/AFP)

PARIS: The French Health Ministry said there were currently nine confirmed cases of the new omicron coronavirus variant on mainland France, which, according to the government’s top scientific adviser, could become dominant strain of the virus in the country by the end of January.