First confirmed U.S. case of Omicron coronavirus variant detected in California

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During a White House press briefing, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the case involved an individual who traveled from South Africa on November 22 and tested positive for Covid-19 on November 29.

This individual, Fauci said, is in self-quarantine and close contacts have so far tested negative for the coronavirus.

The person has been fully vaccinated and has “mild symptoms, which improve at this point,” Fauci said.

Asked by CNN whether this person had received a recall, Fauci replied, “To my knowledge, no.”

The California and San Francisco Public Health Departments confirmed the case to be caused by the Omicron variant through genomic sequencing conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, and the sequence has been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control. and Prevention in the United States.

Color Health said in a statement that it returned the positive test result via a San Francisco Covid-19 testing program, and Omicron was identified within 30 hours “from the time of collection until confirmation of strain”.

The World Health Organization designates Omicron as a “variant of concern”. In a technical note released this week, the WHO noted that the variant poses a “very high” global risk. The variant was first identified by scientists in South Africa and has since been detected in several countries.

Scientists are working to determine how transmissible the variant is, how badly it makes people sick, and how well current vaccines work against it. Until more information is available on the variant, the United States has restricted travel from South Africa and seven other countries.

On Monday, President Joe Biden called the variant “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” saying “we will have to face this new threat just as we face those who came before it.”

Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated against Covid-19, or receive a booster if they are eligible. Other measures such as masks, hand washing, physical distancing, and ventilation will still work against the Omicron variant.

The Delta variant of the coronavirus remains the dominant variant around the world and in the United States.

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