A second case of the Omicron variant has been identified in the U.S., detected in a Minnesota resident who had traveled to New York City for a convention attended by tens of thousands of people. Health authorities in Minnesota said Thursday they’re working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and officials in New York City to investigate.
The Minnesota man developed “mild symptoms” on November 22, after traveling to the Anime NYC 2021 convention in New York City, which hosted 53,000 attendees from November 18 through 20.
While the first U.S. case of the Omicron variant was identified in a traveler from South Africa, Minnesota’s case appears to be the first infection in the U.S. that does not involve travel abroad. Health officials said a close contact of his in Minnesota had also since tested positive and is isolating, but they had been unable so far to confirm whether Omicron was causing the second infection because the person had only used an at-home rapid test.
“Since the beginning of this pandemic, Minnesota’s nation-leading genome sequencing infrastructure and strong testing network have allowed the state to quickly track the COVID-19 virus and better understand its spread,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said in a statement. “Today, those tools detected a case of the Omicron variant in Minnesota.”
The convention apologized to its fans soon after the event, acknowledging a massive influx of attendees that led to sprawling crowded lines throughout the city’s Javits Center.
“[W]ith this year’s growth also comes our biggest challenge. How to be a home for 53,000 fans. In 2019, we welcomed 46,000. This year saw only 7,000 more. But something was different. Everything was packed much, much more,” convention founder Peter Tarara said in a statement.
Tony Sclafani, a spokesperson for the Javits Center, said all visitors were required to show proof of vaccination and wear masks indoors.
“We are working closely with our government and industry partners to learn more about this individual case,” said Sclafani.
What we know about the second case
Health officials in Minnesota told reporters on Thursday that the man had been fully vaccinated more than six months ago and had received a booster shot “in early November.”
Following his flight back to Minnesota from New York City, the man sought a COVID-19 test on November 24 after noticing mild symptoms of COVID-19 that have since resolved.
Over the following week, Minnesota’s health department began sequencing samples from recent positive tests in the state that had the “S Gene Target Failure” seen in some cases caused by the Alpha and Omicron variants.
Out of a handful of samples they had prioritized for sequencing, the lab confirmed the country’s second Omicron case on Wednesday. They expect more results from a commercial laboratory sequencing another batch of potential cases “within a matter of days.”
“We received those on Tuesday actually and, through just an amazing amount of work in our laboratory, we’re able to get sequencing results by late last night,” said Sara Vetter, the assistant director of Minnesota’s public health laboratory.
Officials praised the man for volunteering information about his trip, and taking steps to test for COVID-19 and isolate after noticing symptoms.
“This individual has been extremely cooperative and has isolated and done all of those things that we would ask someone to do from a public health mitigation standpoint,” Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota’s state epidemiologist, said.
Officials preparing for more cases
The discovery of the case comes as the Biden administration is racing to ramp up surveillance for new cases of the variant, which health officials have acknowledged may already be circulating in the U.S.
Officials in New York said the case was a sign of “ongoing community spread” of the variant of concern in the city.
In an alert posted on Wednesday night, the CDC urged health providers to collect travel history from new cases and send the agency samples “as quickly as possible” of suspected cases, as federal health officials try to assess the spread of new cases caused by the variant of concern.
The FDA also said Thursday that it is working on compiling a list of additional test manufacturers that can detect the “S Gene Target Failure,” which could enable more labs to speed screening for potential Omicron cases.
“While no authorized tests specifically report the presence of particular variants, there are certain detection patterns in some tests with multiple genetic targets that may help with early identification of new variants,” James McKinney, an FDA spokesperson, said in a statement.
More than two dozen other countries and territories have so far spotted a case of Omicron, most with a history of international travel, but there have also been some cases of community spread in Europe.
Virtually all cases seen outside Africa so far have been mild or asymptomatic, although health officials have cautioned that young vaccinated travelers tend to be at lower risk of severe cases of the disease than the general population.
The variant’s large number of mutations has raised concerns that people who only have immunity from surviving a prior infection from an earlier strain could be vulnerable to catching the virus again. An early study out of South Africa — which has not been peer-reviewed — warned Thursday of an increased risk of reinfections.
“Get vaccinated, get boosted, and get ready. We do anticipate there will be more cases. But to the extent that they are mild, we’ll address them. This is not cause for alarm,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters on Thursday.
Hochul said there are no confirmed cases yet in the state of New York, but said that “it is very likely soon that someone is going to test positive for this.” The governor urged residents not to panic, citing protection from vaccinations and new medicines to treat the disease.
“I want New Yorkers to have the confidence to know that we are ready to deal with this,” said Hochul.
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