Mongolia recorded 3119 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, exceeding the 3,000 mark for the first time since September 2021, bringing the national tally to 417,557.

The latest confirmed cases were all locally transmitted, and more than half of them were detected in the national capital Ulaanbaatar, the hardest-hit area by the virus and home to over half of the country’s population of 3.4 million.

Meanwhile, three more related deaths were reported in the past day, and the country’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 2,092.

Since the beginning of this year, daily COVID-19 infections have significantly increased across the country due to New Year celebrations and the Omicron variant.

The Omicron cases currently account for at least 70 percent of new daily infections in the country, said Ts.Bilegtsaikhan, director of the National Center for Communicable Diseases, urging the public to follow all relevant health guidelines.

So far, 75 percent of the total population has received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, while over million people aged over 18 have received a third dose.

In addition, 50 thousand Mongolians have received a fourth dose, which the country started to administer from 7 January on a voluntary basis.