Omicron Variant Begins To Spread In United States, Four States Report Positive Cases

Illustrated pemakaian masks for the COVID-19 penal cord. (Wikimedia Commons / Garik Avagyan)

JAKARTA - New York has found five cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, its governor said on Thursday, becoming the fourth United States state to detect the variant, bringing the total number of infections reported in the country to eight.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaking at a news conference, said one of the cases involved a 67-year-old Long Island woman with mild symptoms of headache and cough who had recently returned from South Africa.

The woman tested negative after returning on November 25, but tested positive for coronavirus on November 30 and the results were sent to a laboratory for further tests.

He has some history of vaccinations, but it is not yet clear whether he has received one or two doses or booster shots, Hochul said, citing Reuters December 3.

The other four people are New York City residents but further information is not yet available, the governor said.

"There is no reason to be concerned. We don't have more information at this time, but we suspect there will be more cases emerging. And the best thing everyone can do is realize, we are completely defenseless against this variant, that the vaccine, we know, will make sure there are symptoms that are not too severe," he explained.

Meanwhile, three other US states that have found cases of the Omicron variant, California, Colorado and Minnesota, among fully vaccinated patients have mild symptoms, health officials said.

The Minnesota patient is the first known case of community transmission of the Omicron variant in the US, found in a fully vaccinated man who had recently traveled to New York City and attended a conference.

Separately, Colorado health officials on Thursday said a woman with the Omicron variant had just returned from a trip to southern Africa.

Meanwhile, California on Wednesday reported the first case of the Omicron variant in a fully vaccinated traveler who had been in South Africa. The new variant was first detected in southern Africa last month.

After determining that the Minnesota case had ties to New York, the man attended an anime convention at New York City's Javits Center from November 19-21, health officials immediately activated the 'Test and Trace Corps' to contact conference attendees in an effort to contain its spread, the Mayor explained. New York City Bill de Blasio.

"We are aware of an identified case of the Omicron variant in Minnesota associated with a trip to a conference in New York City. And we have to assume there is community spread of the variant in our city," the Mayor continued.

Meanwhile, Dr. Leana Wen, a professor of public health at George Washington University and former Baltimore health commissioner, said it was only a matter of time before more cases of Omicron were detected in the United States.

The Minnesota case "means there is a spread in the United States. There will be more cases to come," Wen wrote on Twitter.

Scientists are investigating Omicron, which has been labeled a concern variant by the World Health Organization (WHO), to see if it is more infectious than the now prevalent Delta variant. And whether it causes more severe disease. They are also studying how well current vaccines work against it.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said, "news of cases in the state is worrying but not surprising," adding "We know that this virus is highly contagious and is spreading rapidly around the world."

Walz urged residents to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors. The best response to this new variant is the same as during the pandemic, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

To note, about 60 percent of the country's total population, or 196 million people, have been fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates among rich countries. Meanwhile, more than 786,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States, including 37,000 in November alone.