New Caledonia's health authorities say half of Covid-19 infections are now of the Omicron variant, which was detected for the first time in the middle of last week.
Photo: AFP
They say 11 positive results were returned over the past three days, with the analysis showing that omicron has had local transmission.
Some of the cases now concern people who have had no contact with travellers who imported the virus.
Fearing a further spike in the pandemic, anybody who recently attended any gatherings outside their families is encouraged to have a test.
New Caledonia had a sharp surge of the delta variant in September, which killed more than 280 people.