Botswana has recorded its first death from COVID-19 in four months as the southern African country reported an increase in new infections from the deadly virus.According to the Ministry of Health, one person succumbed to virus in Jwaneng, prompting authorities to intensify a testing campaign in the mining town located some 200 km southwest of the capital Gaborone. 

The ministry reported a surge in new cases triggered by Omicron sub-variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 that were recently detected in the country.

There were 159 new infections reported on Monday alone across the country.

Botswana has so far recorded 328,190 COVID-19 infections and 2,787 deaths since the first cases of the diseases were reported in April 2020.