Omicron confirmed in man who attended NYC anime convention
NEW YORK (AP) — A man who attended an anime convention in New York City in late November tested positive for the omicron variant of COVID-19 when he returned home to Minnesota, marking the second case of the variant in the U.S. and prompting officials in the nation's largest city to urge thousands of convention attendees to get tested.
The case came a day after the U.S. announced its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus had been detected in California, in a person who had recently traveled to South Africa.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said there are no confirmed omicron cases among New York residents yet but expected that to change, saying, “We do anticipate there will be more cases.”
The anime convention drew about 50,000 people, according to event organizers, and attendees were required to wear masks and show proof of having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Officials in New York said they were working to trace attendees at the Nov. 19-21 Anime NYC 2021 convention, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
The convention, occurring days before officials in South Africa reported the new variant, was held as New York City prepared to host the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and throngs of tourists returned after the U.S. opened up to vaccinated international travelers.
Officials in the city of 8.8 million said it they expected it would only be a matter of time before the new variant was reported in the city.
“We should assume there is community spread of the variant in our city,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.
The Minnesota man began experiencing mild symptoms on Nov. 22. He had been vaccinated and received a booster shot in early November, according to health officials in his home state. He sought...
