A Minnesota resident has been confirmed as the second omicron COVID-19 case in the United States.
The Minnesota Department of Health reported its first COVID-19 case stemming from the omicron variant on Thursday, just one day after California announced the first omicron case to reach U.S. soil.
"Today, those tools detected a case of the Omicron variant in Minnesota," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in a press statement. "This news is concerning, but it is not a surprise. We know that this virus is highly infectious and moves quickly throughout the world."
OMICRON VARIANT WAS PRESENT IN EUROPE A WEEK BEFORE DETECTION IN SOUTH AFRICA
News Release: Lab testing confirms state’s first COVID-19 case involving Omicron variant https://t.co/kBQwR8XwPc
— mnhealth (@mnhealth) December 2, 2021
The resident is a vaccinated adult male who resides in Hennepin County who developed mild symptoms on Nov. 22 and sought COVID-19 testing on Nov. 24, according to officials. The individual has reportedly since recovered from the symptoms.
The individual traveled domestically to attend the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Javits Center from Nov. 19 to 21 before testing positive for COVID-19, and contract tracing is underway.
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No cases of the omicron variant have been reported in New York as of Thursday morning.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the development is "not unexpected" at a press conference less than two hours after the Minnesota Department of Health announced the case.
“We are not defenseless against this variant,” @GovKathyHochul says after an omicron COVID case was discovered in someone who was recently in NYC. This (vaccinated) person’s case was mild and has already resolved.
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) December 2, 2021
“I don’t want anyone to panic over this.”
The New York governor said New York officials will make sure all attendees of the event are aware of the possible exposure and encourage them to get testing.
When asked about the prospect of an omicron wave this winter, Hochul said, "We're ready for it."
The first omicron case in the U.S. was reported in California Wednesday. The person recently returned from a trip to South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29, Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a White House press conference. The individual is self-quarantined, and people in close contact have been notified and have thus far tested negative.