Second Omicron Case Detected in US

This time, it's in a Minnesota man who had recently visited New York City
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 2, 2021 12:15 PM CST
Second Omicron Case Detected in US
A traveler walks through the arrivals area at the Los Angeles International Airport.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

A not-so-surprising development about the omicron variant: It has now turned up in a second state. One day after health authorities in California detected the first known case in the US, authorities in Minnesota announced the second, reports NPR. The person infected is described as a man from Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, who had recently returned from a trip to New York City. He got tested on Nov. 24 after developing mild symptoms, which have since gone away, per the New York Times. He had been vaccinated. Both stories note that Minnesota has a relatively vigorous virus-surveillance system.

“This news is concerning, but it is not a surprise,” said Gov. Tim Walz. “We know that this virus is highly infectious and moves quickly throughout the world. Minnesotans know what to do to keep each other safe now—get the vaccine, get tested, wear a mask indoors, and get a booster.” The man had attended the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Javits Center on his trip to the city, and health officials in Minnesota are now working with their counterparts in New York to investigate the case. Minnesota assesses the "genomic lineage" of about 20% of positive tests, behind only California and Massachusetts, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune. (More omicron variant stories.)

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