Omicron spread: Brazil reports first Latin American cases of new COVID-19 variant

Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian health regulator Anvisa said on Tuesday that two Brazilians had tested positive for the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the first reported in Latin America.

Anvisa said a passenger arriving in Sao Paulo from South Africa and his wife, who had not traveled, both tested positive for the new variant. Global Omicron’s concern swirled before recent travel bans came into force,

The passenger landed at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport on 23 November with a negative test for COVID-19. But ahead of a planned return trip, the couple tested positive and samples were sent for further analysis, which identified the Omicron variant.

Passengers arrived in Sao Paulo, before the World Health Organization publicly flagged the Omicron version and before Brazil on Friday pledged to suspend flights to and from South Africa and five other southern African countries.

A second test on the sample confirmed the version, the state of So Paulo said.

Sao Paulo Health Secretary Jean Gorinchatin told CNN Brasil that the two Brazilians who tested positive for the variant are missionaries, adding that there was no documentation to suggest they had been vaccinated.

Following Omicron’s confirmation, the state government of So Paulo said it would review plans to relax rules for the use of masks.

Omicron was first officially identified in South Africa last week, but The data now shows it was spinning before then And it has since been detected in more than a dozen countries.

Scientists around the world are racing to determine whether the new variant, which has significant mutations compared to previous strains, is more infectious, lethal or able to survive vaccines. That work is expected to take weeks.

Meanwhile, countries around the world have imposed travel restrictions, mainly on flights to and from southern Africa, despite warnings from the WHO that blanket travel restrictions will not stop the spread of the new variant.

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