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Minnesota has its first reported case of the omicron variant

 of the coronavirus. An adult male resident of Hennepin County who recently traveled to New York City developed mild symptoms on Nov. 22 and was tested for the coronavirus on Nov. 24, days before the world first heard of the omicron variant. Omicron was ultimately found in that Nov. 24 test.

The Minnesota Department of Health has been talking with reporters about the case. MPR News reporter Catherine Richert joined host Cathy Wurzer to share the latest details.

Richert said state Health Department officials stressed that this single case of omicron is not a reason for panic. The same precautions they’ve been encouraging throughout the pandemic — masking, social distancing, vaccination and so on — are still effective at protecting people from COVID-19. More information about the particulars of the omicron variant will emerge in the coming weeks.

Omicron variant surfaces in Minnesota

State public health leaders also said that it was only a matter of time before a case of omicron appeared in Minnesota, and that they wouldn’t be surprised if more cases of omicron appear in the state in the coming days and weeks whether or not it’s related to this first case.

As for the Minnesotan who was infected with the omicron variant, Richert said he only suffered mild symptoms and is already recovering. In New York, he attended the Anime NYC 2021 convention, which hosted about 53,000 people. Officials in Minnesota and New York are working together on contact tracing.

The man was vaccinated against COVID-19 and had received a booster shot. Richert said we should hesitate to draw any conclusions about the efficacy of boosters against omicron from this one case; though it was a breakthrough case, the illness was mild, and the amount of transmission related to the case is yet to be determined.

Richert reminded listeners that getting a booster shot provides good protection against the delta variant, which is still prevalent in Minnesota.

One close contact of the omicron patient has also tested positive for coronavirus, but they have yet to be evaluated for omicron.

This case involves domestic travel, not international travel, which Richert found interesting because the Nov. 24 date that the Minnesota omicron patient was tested for the coronavirus is the same day that South Africa, halfway around the world, reported the discovery of omicron to the WHO.

Richert said that Minnesota has a more sophisticated COVID-19 surveillance than many other states, so the discovery of this case doesn’t necessarily mean we’re in a worse position than other states when it comes to containing omicron. The new variant may already be circulating in other states, and we might have just detected it before them.

Minnesota health officials are sampling positive coronavirus tests for omicron and kicking contact tracing back into gear. Richert said it’s unclear if rapid tests can detect omicron, but PCR tests should be able to.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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Minnesota has its first reported case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Reporter Catherine Richert joined host Cathy Wurzer to share the latest details on the case from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Minnesota has its first reported case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. MPR reporter Catherine Richert joined host Cathy Wurzer to share the latest details on the case from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Reporter Catharine Richert with the latest on Minn.'s first case of omicron

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