De Blasio: Suppose omicron is in New York City

New York Mayor Bill de BlasioBill de BlasioFirst NYC Safe Shelter for Drugs Released Released to Open, says de Blasio, The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – The Omicron Threat and Biden’s Plan to Beat the NYC Officials Recommend Masks Indoors But Will Not Reinstate Mandates MORE (D) said in a statement Thursday that residents should assume the omicron variant of coronavirus is in the city, as an identified case in Minnesota was “associated with travel to a conference” in the city.

“We are aware of a case of the Omicron variant identified in Minnesota that is associated with travel to a conference in New York City, and we should assume that there is community spread of the variant in our city,” de Blasio said.

“We work closely with the state and the government [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], as well as Javits Center event organizers, and our Test and Trace Corps will contact conference attendees. This conference required masks and complied with our Key2NYC requirement to mandate vaccination, ”added the Mayor of New York City.

De Blasio said anyone who had attended the event, Anime NYC, should take precautions and be tested immediately, including those who may not have symptoms.

New York Mayor’s comments as two cases of omicron have been discovered in the United States – one in California and one in Minnesota.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the person who tested positive in California had just returned from South Africa and had been fully vaccinated. The agency noted that the person had mild symptoms.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported Thursday that the person traveling back to the state had mild symptoms and was a vaccinated adult male. The department noted that he was recently at an anime convention in New York City.

The news comes as countries struggle with how to include the newly discovered omicron variant. Some countries have already introduced travel restrictions to limit further proliferation, although some nations and health authorities have criticized the move.

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