US State of Minnesota reports second case of COVID-19 Omicron variant

The second case of infection with the coronavirus Omicron variant in the United States has been reported in the US state of Minnesota one day after the first case was confirmed in the state of California.

"Lab testing confirms the state's first COVID-19 case involving Omicron variant," the Minnesota Department of Health (MHD) said in a message via Twitter.

The MHD said in a subsequent press release that the Omicron variant was detected in a Minnesota resident who recently traveled to New York City.

The person is an adult male and had been fully vaccinated, the release said, adding that he developed mild symptoms on November 22 and sought testing on November 24.

On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the first case of the Omicron variant infection in California in a fully vaccinated traveler who returned from South Africa on November 22.

The Omicron variant was first reported in South Africa last week. Although little is known about the variant's transmissibility or severity, health officials are concerned because of the large number of mutations on the virus' surface.

South African health officials have said the initial cases were discovered in four fully vaccinated individuals are the symptoms are mild. They characterized the reaction to the variant in the United States and other Western countries as "a storm in a tea cup." (ANI/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )