Health officials confirm 5 cases of omicron in Alameda County
First US omicron case found in San Francisco
The U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveler who returned to San Francisco after a trip to South Africa — as scientists around the world race to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus is more dangerous than previous ones.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Alameda County public health officials on Friday confirmed five cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant among residents.
Officials said the patients are exhibiting mild symptoms of the virus.
According to the Alameda County Public Health Department, the cases are among 12 local COVID cases linked to a Nov. 27 wedding in Wisconsin. Health leaders said someone had attended the wedding after taking an international trip.
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New research shows the COVID-19 omicron variant has 50 mutations, including some known to allow the virus to bind to human cells more tightly and cause high transmission. A UCSF virologist says this is one of the reasons for the urgency to collect data.
Genomic sequencing was used to identify the five infected with the omicron variant of COVID. Genomic sequencing data is not yet available for all 12 cases, so health officials have not determined which variant they have.
The infected residents are between the ages of 18 and 49.
"One individual is a resident of the City of Berkeley, which has a separate health jurisdiction, and the remaining 11 are residents of Alameda County. All 12 individuals were vaccinated, and most had received boosters," the county public health department said in a statement.
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No one has been hospitalized.
The latest cases of the omicron variant comes after health officials discovered the first U.S. case in San Francisco.