Omicron coronavirus strain detected in 10 U.S. states

At least 10 of 50 U.S. states have been infected with the Omicron coronavirus strain. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, based on data from authorities.

Most of the cases of infection with the omicron strain were found in patients who had recently traveled to southern Africa. However, in at least two states, Hawaii and Minnesota, the new strain of coronavirus was detected in those who had not left the United States.

According to statistics posted on the U.S. federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site, the number of coronavirus cases in the country has been on the rise in the past few days. On Thursday, 138,400 new cases of infection were identified in the U.S., up from 102,000 on Monday.

Rochelle Walenski, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stressed in a briefing Friday that “99.9 percent of new infections in the country are still associated with the delta strain” of the coronavirus. However, speaking later on CNN, she did not rule out that the spread could change, given that the omicron strain could be more contagious. “It’s very possible that we will see more cases of Omicron infection than Delta,” she stressed.