Five cases of the Omicron variant of Covid have been detected in New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio and state governor Kathy Hochul announced it. Among these cases, at least one is known to have been registered in Brooklyn, two in Queens and one in Suffolk County, Long Island, where a 67-year-old woman tested positive after returning from South Africa. “There is no cause for alarm – said the governor – we just wanted to inform you so that the public opinion is aware of the situation”. Omicron also arrives in Hawaii, where health authorities have identified the first infection. One case was also recorded in Los Angeles County. As the hours go by, the number of Omicron cases in the United States increases.
Australia also announced that it had discovered a first case of the Omicron variant in a student who had not traveled overseas, indicating that the variant has begun to be transmitted between people in Australian territory. The case, uncovered in Sydney, the country’s largest city, comes despite the ban on entry to non-citizens in Australia and restrictions on flights from southern Africa, where the variant was first detected in late November.
The person tested positive “has not traveled overseas and has no ties to anyone who has traveled overseas,” the New Wales South State Department of Health said, specifying that the search for contact cases was still ongoing. . Nine other cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Australia, all in travelers from overseas. This latest announcement raises the possibility that the variant is spreading among people within Australia. Regents Park Christian School in western Sydney, where the student is studying, is closed and the family has been quarantined. Australia has around 2,000 new cases of Covid-19 contamination per day. With an 87% vaccination rate among those over 16, the authorities have expressed their confidence in effectively combating this new variant. Hospitalization rates are currently low and the death toll is 2,021.
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