Due to this, the Health Ministry states it is ready to review some public health border measures.
The sub-variant, also known as Kraken, was descended from the Omicron XBB subvariant, itself a cross between two earlier strains: BA.2.75 and BA.2.10.1.
It comes just a day after New Zealand revealed the variant had also been detected in the country late last week.
The World Health Organization said it has been detected in at least 31 other countries.
Medical superintendent Jemesa Tudravu told FBC news the variant had high transmissibility.