US Omicron Local Transmission Begins... Second Infected Person's Visit Puts New York on High Alert

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The second case of Omicron COVID-19 variant infection, presumed to be locally transmitted, has been reported in the United States. New York, where the infected person visited, immediately entered a state of alert.

On the 2nd (local time), the Minnesota Department of Health announced that the Omicron variant was detected in a sample from an adult male resident who had recently visited an exhibition event held in New York City.

The first confirmed case in the U.S., identified a day earlier, had visited Africa, but this new case, involving a visitor to New York, the largest city in the U.S., has raised greater concerns. This confirms that Omicron local transmission is spreading.

The infected individual had completed COVID-19 vaccination but showed mild symptoms on the 22nd of last month and was diagnosed as an Omicron variant case after testing on the 24th.

The man is known to have attended the 'Anime NYC 2021' event held at the Javits Center, New York City's representative exhibition hall, from the 19th to the 21st of last month, which has also caused concern for New York City and New York State.

Governor Kathy Hochul emphasized that all attendees of the Anime NYC 2021 event must undergo COVID-19 testing.

Governor Hochul also stated that health authorities will contact event attendees, but since the number of attendees reached 53,000, there is a possibility that Omicron local transmission has already spread widely not only in New York City but across the United States.

Governor Hochul predicted, "We expect more infection cases." New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "We have activated a contact tracing program to track people who attended the event. We must assume that the Omicron variant has already spread in the New York community."

The mask regulations in New York City are also likely to be strengthened. After the presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed, New York City reinstated the indoor mask mandate instead of just recommending it.