US Confirms Nation's First Case of Omicron Covid Variant In California

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: U.S. health officials have confirmed the country's first case of the new, heavily mutated coronavirus variant called omicron in California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said the individual, who was fully vaccinated, had just returned from traveling in South Africa to the San Francisco area on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29.

'The individual is self quarantining and all close contacts have been contacted and all close contacts, thus far, have tested negative,' he announced at a White House press briefing providing more details of the case. 'We feel good that this patient not only had mild symptoms, but actually the symptoms appear to be improving.' The CDC said genomic sequencing was initially conducted at the University of California, San Francisco and confirmed by the CDC as the omicron variant. On Twitter, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said: 'CA's large-scale testing and early detection systems have found the Omicron COVID-19 variant in California. We should assume that it's in other states as well. There's no reason to panic--but we should remain vigilant. That means get vaccinated. Get boosted. Wear a mask indoors.'

Further reading: WHO Says Omicron Has Been Found in 23 Countries Across the World

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