2. 로컬/캘리포니아

가주에서 오미크론 변이 감염사레 발견.. 전국에서 첫 감염사례

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(사진 로이터)

오늘 (1일) 백악관이 가주에서 오미크론 변이 바이러스 감염자가 발생해 전국에서 최초의 오미크론 감염사례가 나왔다고 발표했습니다.

앤서니 파우치 국립 알레르기 전염병 연구소 소장은 감염자는 지난달 22일 남아공에서 귀국했으며 지난 29일 양성판정을 받았다고 설명했습니다.

조 바이든 대통령은 남아프리카에서 해당 변이 바이러스가 발견되자 지난 29일 남아프리카 8 개국에 여행제한 명령을 발효한 바 있습니다.

질병통제예방센터 (CDC) 측은 해외에서 귀국하는 주민들을 대상으로 백신접종 여부와 관계없이 코로나 검사를 실시하는등 방역에 힘썼습니다.

파우치 소장은 오미크론의 전염성, 치사율을 비롯해 많은 것이 알려져 있지 않다고 덧붙였습니다.

이   은 기자

A person in California became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the COVID-19 omicron variant, the White House announced Wednesday as scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new strain of the virus.

The Biden administration moved late last month to restrict travel from Southern Africa where the variant was first identified and had been widespread. Clusters of cases have also been identified in about two dozen other nations.

“This is the first case of COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant detected in the United States,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said at the White House. He said the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking steps to tighten U.S. testing rules for travelers from overseas, including requiring a test for all travelers within a day of boarding a flight to the U.S. regardless of vaccination status.

It was also considering mandating post-arrival testing.

Officials said those measures would only “buy time” for the country to learn more about the new variant and to take appropriate precautions, but that given its transmissibility its arrival in the U.S. was inevitable.

Much remains unknown about the new variant, including whether it is more contagious than previous strains, whether it makes people more seriously ill, and whether it can thwart the vaccine. Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said more would be known about the omicron strain in two to four weeks as scientists grow and test lab samples of the virus.

The announcement of the first U.S. case comes before President Joe Biden plans to outline his strategy on Thursday to combat the virus over the winter. Biden has tried to quell alarm over the omicron variant, saying it was a cause for concern but “not a cause for panic.”

Biden and public health officials have grown more urgent in their pleas for more Americans to get vaccinated — and for those who have been vaccinated to get booster shots to maximize their protection against the virus.

Categories: 2. 로컬/캘리포니아

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