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 | | Daily reported coronavirus cases in the United States, seven-day average.The New York Times |
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The first U.S. Omicron case was reported in California, the C.D.C. said today, signaling the arrival of a potentially dangerous new phase of the pandemic in the country. |
The patient, who returned to the state from South Africa on Nov. 22, is in isolation, and aggressive contact tracing is underway. The individual was fully vaccinated, was not hospitalized and had mild symptoms that were improving. People in close contact with the individual have tested negative. |
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the patient had received two doses of the Moderna vaccine but was within the six-month window and had thus not received a booster. |
California health officials said the state was increasing coronavirus testing at airports, focusing on arrivals from countries identified by the C.D.C. as potential sources of the virus. Newsom said that the state would not be intensifying public health restrictions, at least in the short term. |
The discovery prompted Biden administration officials to renew their urgent calls for Americans to get fully vaccinated and, if eligible, a booster shot. |
"We're learning more every single day," Biden said at the White House today. He vowed that the administration would "fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion." |
"Get boosted now," Fauci said. "We may not need a variant-specific boost." |
More Omicron cases in South Africa |
South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases said today that Omicron had been found in nearly three quarters — 74 percent — of all virus genomes sequenced in the country in November. Omicron has now overtaken Delta as the most prevalent variant in South African samples. |
My colleague Lynsey Chutel, who covers southern Africa for The Times, told me that scientists now know the variant was present in the country as early as Nov. 8. |
Virus cases are also surging in South Africa. In the last 24 hours, the country's test positivity rate jumped to 16.5 percent, from 10.2 percent. In mid-November, before the detection of the Omicron variant, the positivity rate hovered around 1 percent. |
Many questions remain about whether the new variant causes more severe illness than others. Officials in South Africa reported Omicron cases with symptoms that ranged from "mild disease all the way to severe disease," but no deaths to date. |
Tulio de Oliveira, director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform, said that Omicron "seems to cause much more breakthrough infections than the previous ones." But there is still much we don't know. |
For the latest on Omicron in South Africa, I spoke with Lynsey. |
What do we know about the people infected with Omicron in South Africa and how they're doing? |
At this point, we just don't know much. Hopefully, once we have data on the link between hospitalizations and the Omicron variant, we'll also have a clearer idea about the severity of illness caused so far. |
It's worth noting, though, that the spike in infections has largely been among young people under the age of 35. This also happens to be the cohort that is least vaccinated, and the most socially active group, according to epidemiologists. In Pretoria, where we first saw infections spike, scientists have also seen an increase in hospitalizations among people ages 20 to 44. |
Worryingly, there is also an increase in hospitalizations in children younger than 2. These are just some of the concerning patterns that we're hoping to have more insight into soon. |
Before the detection of the new variant, South Africa recorded its lowest daily new cases since the start of the pandemic. To some scientists, it seemed a form of herd immunity had been reached through an overlap of vaccinations and previous infections. |
The uptick in cases was the first sign that South Africa was most likely entering a fourth wave. By the end of November, the number of new infections shot up to 4,373. Most of these are in Gauteng province, South Africa's densely populated economic hub, which is also home to the administrative capital, Pretoria, and the largest city, and my home: Johannesburg. |
How is the government responding? |
News of the new variant could not have come at a worse time for South Africans. December is the holiday season here, and it is also the height of summer. Millions of people travel from cities to rural areas, coming together at social gatherings. In the first few days after the announcement of the detection of the Omicron variant, South Africans were holding their breath for another lockdown. In the past, we've seen inter-provincial travel banned, beaches closed and a strict curfew. All of this was not only bad for morale, our already battered economy took a knock. |
However, we're not going into lockdown yet, and the state's public health response has emphasized vaccines. In fact, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday that his cabinet was considering introducing vaccine mandates. |
South Africa now has enough vaccines to cover the adult population and has also started vaccinating children ages 12 to 17. However, uptake has plateaued, with vaccine hesitancy becoming a worrying issue. So far, 36 percent of adults are fully vaccinated, but that is only half of the vaccination target the government set for the end of December. |
The travel bans seem to be the most important topic in the public conversation. For one, it hurts our economy after two tough years that saw tourist numbers drop. |
But more than that, South Africa is smarting from feeling punished for sharing scientific data and being transparent. Botswana's health minister lamented the early use of the term "Botswana variant" and asked why scientists from this small African nation weren't celebrated instead. Now, in South Africa at least, news that the variant was likely in Europe long before the announcement is being met with a bit of schadenfreude. |
To better understand the coronavirus's journey from one person to another, a team of 50 scientists created an atomic simulation of the coronavirus nestled in an airborne drop of water — the first such model of a virus. |
The visual gives a never-before-seen glimpse at the mysterious process of how the virus survives in the open air. |
What are your Omicron questions? |
Once again, the world is racing to understand the details of a potentially dangerous new variant of the coronavirus. Finding solid answers to our questions can seem impossible when the information changes so quickly. But we're here to help. |
We're collecting questions from readers about the Omicron variant, and we'll have Times health and science reporters answer them later this week. If you have a question, you can send it to us here. We may use it in an upcoming newsletter. |
What else we're following |
There are no words to describe the heartbreak I felt when I learned about countries banning travel to South Africa. On Thanksgiving, when people are supposed to be celebrating with family, I cried in bed alone. In February 2020, I met someone in Pretoria (after being pen pals for a year). Saying goodbye at the airport was one of the hardest moments of my life. Before I left, I promised I'd come back "soon" for a longer visit. Almost two years later, that reunion hasn't happened. My plans for a February trip are seeming more and more unlikely, leaving me with one painful question: How much longer will he wait for me? — Anna, Charleston, S.C. |
Let us know how you're dealing with the pandemic. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
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