A person in California became the first in the US to have an identified case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. This is the first case detected in the country, said Centre for Disease Control (CDC) head Anthony Fauci said at the White House. He said the person was a traveller who returned from South Africa on November 22 and tested positive on November 29. The Biden administration moved late last month to restrict travel from southern Africa where the variant was first identified and had been widespread. Clusters of cases have also been identified in about two dozen other nations. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing mild symptoms. "We knew that it was just a matter of time," Fauci told reporters at the White House.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking steps to tighten US testing rules for travellers from overseas, including requiring a test for all travellers within a day of boarding a flight to the US regardless of vaccination status. It was also considering mandating post-arrival testing.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said they detected their first cases of the new coronavirus variant, recording the first known instances of Omicron infections in the Persian Gulf region. Saudi Arabia's state-run Saudi Press Agency said its case was a citizen coming from what it described as a North African country. The report said the infected individual and his close contacts had been quarantined.
The UAE also reported its first case of infection with the Omicron variant late Wednesday. State-run WAM news agency described the patient as an African woman who travelled from an African country through an Arab country, without specifying which nations.
Much remains unknown about the new variant, which has been identified in more than 20 countries, including whether it is more contagious, whether it makes people more seriously ill, and whether it can thwart the vaccine.