Public health officials have confirmed that five people have contracted
the omicron variant in North California, at least, and the outbreak has been
traced to a wedding held in Wisconsin, last month. The announcement came on
Friday, December 3, 2021, two days after the first case of the omicron variant
was found in California.

Also Read | What is Omicron?

Notably, these five people are among a group of 12, who have all tested
positive for COVID-19. The Alameda County Department of Public Health noted
that the Wisconsin wedding took place on November 27 and was attended by one
individual who had returned from international travel. The entire group is
vaccinated and are afflicted by mildly symptomatic cases. The genomic
sequencing of the remaining seven members is not yet complete.

While officials have not specified when and where the wedding guest had travelled
internationally, they shared that the group members were aged between 18 and 49
years. Notably, the US administration headed by President Joe Biden, has already
decided to restrict travel from South Africa. This decision came after the
variant was first identified there and was recognized to have spread considerably.
Such clusters have also been identified in other nations.

Also Read | CDC updates ‘very high’ risk travel list amid Omicron scare

The current situation with omicron has put the world on edge with
countries like Israel and Japan choosing to close down their borders
completely. Restrictions are being imposed on international travel worldwide,
and ‘at-risk’ countries are being identified to try and stop the spread of this
variant.

Not much is known about omicron at the moment, which is why the panic is widespread. We do not know if it is more contagious than previous variants, whether
it is more fatal for the people it affects, and if it can thwart the existing
vaccines. Therefore, isolation and a cautious approach is the only way forward,
which is what the health officials are doing to handle the situation with the
wedding guests.