Long Beach Confirms Case of Omicron COVID Variant – NBC Los Angeles

Health officials in Long Beach reported the first known case in the COVID-19 Omicron variant market on Tuesday, the day after Los Angeles County reported the second and third cases of the first mutant detected in South Africa. confirmed.

According to Long Beach officials, the patient has been fully vaccinated and has no symptoms of COVID. According to officials, the person returned to Long Beach on November 29 after finishing his trip abroad, but did not return to southern Africa.

Long Beach has its own health department separate from Los Angeles County, with two more cases of Omicron mutants confirmed on Monday, for a total of three cases.

The county incident confirmed on Monday was a USC student who traveled to the East Coast for a Thanksgiving vacation and an individual who recently traveled from West Africa.

According to the County Public Health Service, USC students are completely vaccinated with COVID-19, have mild symptoms, and are isolated. “The infection is likely to have been taken outside Los Angeles County,” officials said, based on the person’s travel history. Close contact with the person has been identified and all have been inspected and placed in quarantine.

USC officials issued a statement that the incident was detected “as part of USC’s regular surveillance testing program,” adding that all close contact with the person had been identified and quarantined.

According to the university, “individuals did not participate in campus classes or organized activities during the period of infection.”

LA County has identified another case of the Omicron variant, and concerns about its ability to spread have led to pre-vacation changes. Robert Kovacik reports on NBC4 News on December 6, 2021 at 11:00 pm.

Individuals who have recently traveled from West Africa have also been fully vaccinated with COVID-19, have mild symptoms, and are self-isolated. According to the department, the person’s known close contact has been fully vaccinated and tested negative.

“This latest case of the Omicron variant in Los Angeles County highlights how important safety measures are during travel,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of the county’s public health department, in a statement. I don’t travel while I’m sick. Residents should also consider delaying their trip until they and all of their travel companions are fully vaccinated. “

The Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa and is now widespread in dozens of other countries and several US states. The first US case was confirmed in San Francisco last Wednesday, and Los Angeles County confirmed the first case a day later.

The first Los Angeles County Omicron patient is a resident who returned to the area on November 22 after traveling to South Africa via London. The infection was also considered “most likely to be travel-related.” Unidentified patients have been fully vaccinated with COVID-19 and their symptoms have improved, health officials said.

It is still unclear whether the Omicron variant is more infectious than other forms of the virus, causes more serious illness, or can circumvent the protection provided by current vaccines. However, the rapid spread in South Africa warned, especially before the winter holiday season and the accompanying trips and rallies.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said on Tuesday that early observations of Omicron cases may not show the same level of risk as the previous Delta mutants. I showed you what I was suggesting. It is a year and is still considered a major stock of COVID in the United States.

County officials urged people to be tested if they traveled abroad during the holidays or visited places with a high COVID-19 infection rate.Test locations can be found online covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/..

On Tuesday, the county reported 15 new COVID-19 deaths, increasing the overall virus-related deaths to 27,262.

An additional 941 infections were reported, with 1,538,451 pandemics throughout the county.

As of Tuesday, the moving average daily rate for those who tested positive for the virus was 1.4%.

As of Tuesday, there were 650 COVID-19-positive patients in hospitals in Los Angeles County, up from 629 on Monday, according to state statistics. The number of patients treated in the intensive care unit was 149, down from 151 the day before.

According to the latest figures, 83% of counties over the age of 12 have been vaccinated at least once and 74% have been fully vaccinated. Of all eligible residents over the age of 5, 76% have been vaccinated at least once and 68% have been fully vaccinated.

Black residents continue to have the lowest vaccination rates, with 55% receiving at least one vaccination. 60% for Latin / a residents, 73% for Caucasian residents, and 82% for Asians.

Of the more than 6.1 million fully vaccinated people in the county, 80,445 were positive, or about 1.32%, according to the latest county figures. A total of 2,680 vaccinated people were hospitalized at a rate of 0.044% and 503 died at a rate of 0.008%.