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D.C. announces first four cases of omicron variant

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Updated December 12, 2021 at 9:30 p.m. EST|Published December 12, 2021 at 6:54 p.m. EST
Coronavirus variants like omicron, delta and mu are an expected part of the virus's life cycle, but vaccines can prevent more infectious variants from forming. (Video: John Farrell, Hadley Green/The Washington Post)

Four unrelated cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus were confirmed Sunday in the District, the city’s health department said.

These were apparently the first such cases to be found in Washington of the new coronavirus variant that is rapidly spreading in many countries.

City health officials said the four people who have the variant are: