1st case of omicron variant identified in US, official says

WASHINGTON — A idiosyncratic successful California became the archetypal successful the U.S. to person an identified lawsuit of the omicron variant of COVID-19, a U.S. authoritative told The Associated Press connected Wednesday. It comes arsenic scientists proceed to survey the risks posed by the caller strain of the virus.

The Biden medication moved precocious past period to restrict question from Southern Africa wherever the variant was archetypal identified and had been widespread. Clusters of cases person besides been identified successful astir 2 twelve different nations. The authoritative could not sermon the substance publically and spoke to the AP connected information of anonymity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking steps to tighten U.S. investigating rules for travelers from overseas, including requiring a trial for each travelers wrong a time of boarding a formation to the U.S. careless of vaccination status. It was besides considering mandating post-arrival testing.

Officials said those measures would lone “buy time” for the state to larn much astir the caller variant and to instrumentality due precautions, but that fixed its transmissibility its accomplishment successful the U.S. was inevitable.

Much remains chartless astir the caller variant, including whether it is much contagious than erstwhile strains, whether it makes radical much earnestly ill, and whether it tin thwart the vaccine. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the apical U.S. infectious illness expert, said much would beryllium known astir the omicron strain successful 2 to 4 weeks arsenic scientists turn and trial laboratory samples of the virus.

The announcement of the archetypal U.S. lawsuit comes earlier President Joe Biden plans to outline his strategy connected Thursday to combat the microorganism implicit the winter. Biden has tried to quell alarm implicit the omicron variant, saying it was a origin for interest but “not a origin for panic.”

Biden and nationalist wellness officials person grown much urgent successful their pleas for much Americans to get vaccinated — and for those who person been vaccinated to get booster shots to maximize their extortion against the virus.