Connecticut confirms its first case of the Omicron variant in a man in his 60s – Telemundo New York (47)

Governor Ned Lamont confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Connecticut on Saturday. Sequencing performed at the Connecticut State Public Health Laboratory confirmed the presence of the variant.

The case is that of a fully vaccinated man in his 60s from Hartford County who developed mild symptoms on November 27. A COVID-19 home test came back positive on November 29 and a subsequent molecular test came back positive on December 1.

A member of the man’s family traveled to New York City between November 17 and 22 to attend the event. Anime NYC 2021 at the Javits Center, where the Minnesota man also attended, the first case in this state, which tested positive for the variant.

That family member developed mild symptoms on November 21, and a home test for COVID-19 was performed on November 23, which came back positive. The family member’s symptoms have resolved. COVID-19 testing in additional family members is pending. The affected individual and his family member are fully vaccinated.

The governor, like the other leaders of the tri-state area, insists that there is no need to be alarmed and that the state is prepared to combat the variant.

“As I have been saying in recent days, given the speed with which this new variant has spread throughout the world and its positive identification in various states, we assumed that it was already in our state and the information we received from the laboratory today confirms that done, ”Governor Lamont said. “This is probably not the only case of the variant in the state. With that said, I must urge everyone in Connecticut not to panic. While we are still learning more about this variant, our healthcare providers continue to do everything possible to protect everyone. We have life-saving tools like vaccines and boosters available to combat this pandemic, including the Delta and Omicron variants, and I urge everyone to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and everyone around them. “

Governor Lamont’s announcement comes hours after New York Governor Kathy Hochul reported three new cases of the Omicron variant identified in New York City, bringing the number to eight cases in this state.

On Friday, meanwhile, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Unveiled Garden State’s First Case of a fully vaccinated female traveler. The woman who tested positive in New Jersey, Murphy said, is a fully vaccinated Georgia woman who recently traveled to South Africa. Officials from his home state said he returned to Georgia for two days before heading north to New Jersey, where he finally tested positive for Omicron. Contact tracing is underway in every state as she isolates herself after testing positive on Nov. 28.

Meanwhile, the first five cases in New York, reported Thursday, include a 67-year-old woman on Long Island who had recently traveled to South Africa, residents of Brooklyn and Queens, and another possibly related New York City case. with travel. At least one person had received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but officials had no details on the vaccination status of the other four cases. The governor did not release many details about the three new confirmed cases on Saturday.

With this, the tri-state area has confirmed as of Saturday night 10 cases of the Omicron variant: one in New Jersey, one in Connecticut and eight in New York.

So far, preliminary evidence suggests that the Omicron variant is at least more transmissible than previous strains, although it is unclear whether it is more transmissible than the delta. There is no data yet from the US to indicate that it causes more serious disease and death or is at increased risk of progression, although the World Health Organization has said it believes that omicron has an increased risk of reinfection. .

A non-peer-reviewed, pre-print study by a team of South African researchers suggests that Ómicron appears to have a “substantial ability” to evade natural immunity acquired from previous COVID-19 infections, although it did acknowledge that vaccination acquired by Vaccination remains open question in regards to the new variant.

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