Costumed attendees take a break during a convention in New York. The convention is held in New York City.
The US may have its first case study on the spread of the omicron coronaviruses variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 50 thousand fans from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 27 other countries traveled to New York City for the convention. The organizers reported that they were overwhelmed by the large attendance and struggled with packed rooms and crowding.
A resident in Minnesota tested positive for the omicron variant after attending the convention. It was the second omicron case to be found in the US. At least 18 other US states and over 50 countries have been identified as having cases since then.
The discovery of omicron at a large event is concerning. It is thought that the variant is ultra transmissible. Preliminary reports from South Africa suggest that omicron may spread more quickly than the already hyper transmissible variant. In a crowded convention, omicron could quickly spread among attendees and be carried back to home states and countries for further spread.
Spotting spread.
Omicron is rapidly escalating in the US. Health officials have been slow in detecting the variant. Since the beginning of the Pandemic, genotyping has improved, though it is patchy and limited across states. The country is being affected by the high levels of delta transmission. The massive delta wave could wash out any small rise in omicron cases.
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Health investigators can use the source of transmission provided by the convention to get a better idea of how omicron is spreading. The Minnesota and New York City health departments have collaborated with the CDC to retrace omicron's steps.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said in a press briefing Tuesday that the CDC has reached out to all states, territories, and countries with residents who attended the convention and hopes to reach all of them. More than 35,000 people have been contacted by health officials.
Walensky said that the data from the investigation will likely provide some of the earliest looks in this country.
The work will be difficult for contact tracers. Connecticut announced on December 4 that it had detected an omicron case in a man in his 60s. A family member of the man had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from the New York convention.
A Minnesota man was the first to be found to have an omicron infection after the convention, according to a New York Times article. He told the paper that he had spent his time in New York chatting with strangers and singing karaoke at the convention.
