The United States has announced its first confirmed case of Omicron, the new variant of Covid, in a traveller who has recently returned from South Africa. This is the first known case of the new variant, first identified by South African scientists, in the US, as several reports now suggest that the variant was present in Europe before South Africa reported the first case. Much about the new variant is not known yet, but its emergence has created fresh apprehension across the world with most of the countries putting travel restrictions.
Here is what we know about US' 1st Omicron case:
1. The traveller was fully vaccinated against Covid but did not receive any booster dose.
2. The person returned from South Africa on November 22. All his contacts have tested negative.
3. The person tested positive on November 29 and was in self-quarantine.
4. At present, the patient is recovering from the symptoms. "We feel good that this patient not only had mild symptoms but actually the symptoms appear to be improving," US top health official Anthony Fauci said.
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5. The San Francisco health department and California's state health department jointly confirmed the case issuing a statement that the variant was found thanks to the state's testing and genome sequencing surveillance.
6. According to reports, the passenger began her travel back to the United States on November 21 and landed in San Francisco on November 22.
{{/usCountry}}6. According to reports, the passenger began her travel back to the United States on November 21 and landed in San Francisco on November 22.
{{/usCountry}}7. On November 25, the person experienced symptoms and three days later for testing. The sequencing was done by the University of California.
8. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not investigating any other potential Omicron cases in the US, reports said.
9. The new variant was identified in under 30 hours "from the time of collection to strain information", it has been said.
10. The Governor of California said there is no reason to panic but everyone should remain vigilant.