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First US Omicron case identified in California, says US CDC

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The US Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday the traveler, who returned to the US from South Africa, " are="" had="" improving.="" mild="" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/12/01/20211201_global-markets.jpg" symptoms="" that=""/><figcaption>The US Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday the traveler, who returned to the US from South Africa, &quot;had mild symptoms that are improving.&quot; <em>Dado Ruvic, Reuters illustration/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The United States on Wednesday announced its first confirmed case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant had been detected in California, in a fully vaccinated traveler who had recently returned from South Africa and was recovering from mild symptoms.</p><p>Top health official Anthony Fauci said authorities &quot;knew it was just a matter of time&quot; before the strain was found in the country, reminding Americans that vaccination, boosters and masking in indoor public settings remained the best way to stay protected.</p><p>According to a statement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the person returned from South Africa on November 22, and their close contacts have all tested negative.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/dec/01/covid-news-live-who-advises-vulnerable-against-travel-over-omicron-greece-to-fine-those-over-60-who-refuse-vaccine">Time to ‘think about mandatory vaccination’, says European Union chief</a></li></ul><p>Speaking to reporters, Fauci added that the patient tested positive on November 29, and that they had not received a booster, to the best of his knowledge.</p><p>Some early press reports regarding the Omicron variant have suggested it might confer more mild illness, but Fauci cautioned reading too much into these until more hard data was available. </p><p>&quot;We feel good that this patient not only had mild symptoms, but actually the symptoms appear to be improving,&quot; he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211201-south-korea-detects-first-omicron-cases-tightens-travel-curbs">South Korea detects first Omicron cases, tightens travel curbs</a></li></ul><p>&quot;But as we said, there&#x27;s a lot of information that is now evolving out of countries like South Africa that have a much larger number of individuals&quot; with the variant, he added.</p><p>Such data should follow in the coming weeks and months. </p><p>While the person involved was fully vaccinated, Fauci stressed a COVID booster remained a good idea because it raises the number of overall antibodies in a person&#x27;s immune system, some of which will remain effective at stopping new variants.</p><p>&quot;Our experience with variants such as the Delta variant, is that even though the vaccine isn&#x27;t specifically targeted to the Delta variant, when you get a high enough level of an immune response, you get spillover protection,&quot; he said.</p><p>Fauci also defended the travel ban the US had placed on southern African countries, which UN Chief Antonio Guterres has slammed as &quot;unfair&quot; and &quot;ineffective.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We needed to buy some time to be able to prepare, understand what&#x27;s going on,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;We wanted to make sure that we didn&#x27;t all of a sudden say it&#x27;s like anything else, don&#x27;t worry about it, and then all of a sudden, something unfolds in front of you that you&#x27;re really not prepared for. So we look at this as a temporary measure.&quot;</p><p>To prepare for Omicron, the US is planning tougher testing and weighing quarantine requirements for international travelers arriving in the country, including taking a COVID-19 test one day prior to departure, the CDC said Wednesday.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/29/omicron-new-variant-not-cause-for-panic-says-biden">Omicron coronavirus variant ‘not a cause for panic’, says Biden</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1846910" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The US Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday the traveler, who returned to the US from South Africa, 'had mild symptoms that are improving.'