Uzbekistan on Monday reported 1,037 new COVID-19 cases over the previous 24 hours, the highest number on record, after confirming the presence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus this month.
Its Central Asian neighbours Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have also reported jumps in COVID-19 cases after registering the spread of Omicron.
Kazakhstan reported a record 13,523 cases on Sunday. On Monday, the Kazakh government said middle and high school students in the country's three largest cities would study remotely until the end of March.
(Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov Additional reporting and writing by Olzhas Auyezov in Almaty; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
