The United States announced the first confirmed case of Omicron, a new variant of Covid, among a traveller who recently returned from South Africa. This is the first known case of a new variant, discovered by a South African scientist in the United States for the first time, because several reports now indicate that the variant already existed in Europe before the first case was reported in South Africa.

A lot of information about the new variant is not yet clear, but its appearance has caused new concerns around the world, and most countries have implemented travel restrictions. 1. The traveler has been fully vaccinated with the Covid vaccine, but has not received any booster doses.

2. The person returned from South Africa on November 22, and all contacts were negative.
3. The person tested positive on November 29 and is in self-isolation.
4. Currently, the patient is recovering from symptoms. Anthony Fauci, a senior US health official, said: “We are very happy that this patient not only has mild symptoms, but actually seems to be improving.” 5. The San Francisco Department of Health and the California Department of Health jointly confirmed the case and issued a statement stating that the mutation was discovered through testing and genome sequencing monitoring in the state. 6. According to reports, the passenger left for the United States on November 21 and landed in San Francisco on November 22.
5. On November 25, the person developed symptoms and was tested three days later. Sequencing was done by the University of California.
6. The report stated that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not investigate any other potential Omicron cases in the United States.
7. Allegedly, the new variant was identified within 30 hours “from the collection of strain information.”
8. The Governor of California said that there is no reason to panic, but everyone should remain vigilant.

News Source : Hindustan Times