RAMALLAH, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) — Palestine sent 100 COVID-19 samples to an Israeli hospital to test for the Omicron variant, a senior official said Sunday.

The West Bank does not have labs to test for the new variant, so the samples were sent to Tel Hashomer Hospital in Tel Aviv, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila told state radio Voice of Palestine.

The majority of the samples are from Palestinians who had recently returned to the Palestinian territories from abroad, she said, noting that “any infection with the new variant will be announced on the media.”

The minister called on the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to hurry up and get vaccinated, saying that “this will make their immunity stronger against variants.” On Sunday, the Palestinian territories recorded 275 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the daily COVID-19 report of the Palestinian Health Ministry. On Saturday, the Palestinian authorities decided to impose new measures at the crossing points and terminals in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to combat the spread of the new variant.