Minnesota reports omicron cases in domestic travelers

The Minnesota Department of Health reported Thursday that it has found the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 in a state resident who had recently traveled to New York City.

That executive order comes a day after San Francisco public health officials reported that they had identified the first U.S. case of the omicron variant in a traveler who recently returned from South Africa, where the variant’s rapid spread has alerted health officials around the world.

The Minnesota Communication will mark the first U.S. case of a person who had not traveled abroad to places where the variant was already known to circulate, suggesting that it is already established in the United States.

“This news is worrying, but it’s not a surprise,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement from the state Department of Health. “We know this virus is highly contagious and is spreading rapidly around the world.”

The Minnesota Department of Health said the person with the omicron variant is a grown man and had been vaccinated. The person developed mild symptoms on November 22 and applied for COVID-19 testing on November 24. The department said the person’s symptoms have since been resolved.

The person spoke with Minnesota Public Health case investigators and reported that he traveled to New York City and attended the Anime NYC 2021 Congress at the Javits Center from the 19th-21st. November. The person was advised to isolate himself from others while epidemiologists in Minnesota are investigating it in collaboration with New York City and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Like California officials on Wednesday, after the variant was found in a San Francisco traveler who had reported feeling COVID-19 symptoms after returning from a recent trip to South Africa, Minnesota health officials advised that vaccination and wearing face masks are the best defense against the omicron variant.

While the World Health Organization has declared omicron a variant of concern, researchers are still working to determine how it can be compared to the dominant delta variant in terms of transmissibility and severity of the disease. Researchers are also studying the extent to which existing vaccines and therapies protect against omicron.

The variant was found through the Minnesota Department of Health’s variant monitoring program, which Walz said allowed the department to quickly identify it when it entered the state, making it more likely that Minnesota would be among the first states to find the variant.

“Since the beginning of this pandemic, Minnesota’s nationwide genome sequencing infrastructure and strong test networks have enabled the state to quickly track the COVID-19 virus and better understand its spread,” Walz said.