NYC Anime Convention May Offer "Earliest Looks" at Omicron Spread in US
upstart writes:
NYC anime convention may offer 'earliest looks' at Omicron spread in US, CDC director says:
The CDC has joined investigations into the possible spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant at the Anime NYC 2021 convention held last month, assisting with contact tracing among the tens of thousands of convention attendees, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a virtual White House briefing Tuesday. The convention took place at the Javits Center from November 18-22.
These contact tracing efforts -- arguably the largest in the nation to involve Omicron -- could hold clues to just how easily and quickly this variant may spread.
"Of the reported 53,000 people who attended that conference, more than 35,000 and counting have been contacted to encourage testing for all attendees," Walensky said. "Data from this investigation will likely provide some of the earliest looks in this country on the transmissibility of the variant."
The Minnesota Department of Health announced last week that it had identified the nation's second Covid-19 case caused by Omicron in a resident who recently traveled to New York City and attended the Anime NYC 2021 convention from November 19-21. The United States' first case, also announced last week, was identified in California and health officials expect to find more cases of the variant as genetic sequencing continues around the country.
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