Friends who attended anime convention with man who contracted omicron have tested positive for coronavirus, health official says@lennymbernstein @francesssellers @fenitn https://t.co/TaaAoDFrxp
— Lenny Bernstein (@LennyMBernstein) December 4, 2021
Okay, it didn’t have to be the convention! They could’ve caught it anywhere in NYC — or while travelling there & back:
The Minnesota man who contracted the omicron variant of the coronavirus met up with about 35 friends at a New York City anime convention and about half have tested positive for the coronavirus, a state health official said Friday.
Members of the group traveled to New York from a variety of states for the weekend convention that began Nov. 19 and tested positive after their return, said Kris Ehresmann, director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention, and Control Division at the Minnesota Department of Health. It is not known whether they are infected with omicron or another variant.
“We don’t know if we’ll see a lot of omicron, or we’ll see a lot of delta,” Ehresmann said in an interview. “But we’re likely to see a lot of covid” out of the convention, which drew 53,000 people and tightly packed crowds from Nov. 19 to 21.
The development is not sufficient, by itself, to determine where people were infected, who gave the virus to whom or to develop a timeline of its spread, Ehresmann said. The man infected with omicron also spent time elsewhere in New York City. New York, Minnesota and other states, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are investigating the case and have begun tracing the Minnesota man’s contacts…
“The conference seems like the most likely spot because of the extreme mixing of so, so many people,” Ehresmann said. “It was just a very large gathering that provided the opportunity for a lot of mixing for many people across the country.”
The unidentified man flew to New York on Nov. 18 and his symptoms began Nov. 22, which would indicate a short incubation period for the omicron variant if he picked it up in New York, Ehresmann said. The man had been vaccinated and received a booster shot in November, officials said.
The man’s symptoms were mild and resolved Nov. 24, health authorities have said. He lives with other people, one of whom tested positive on a rapid test and is being investigated further, they have said…
Still be a while before this event catches up to the Boston superspreader event that first convinced me this was not just another short-lived viral scare:
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, Dec. 3-4Post + Comments (43)
