Brazil reports two cases of Omicron variant, first in Latin America

Brazil's health regulator Anvisa said on Tuesday that laboratory analysis had found two Brazilian cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the first reported cases in Latin America. Anvisa said a traveler arriving in Sao Paulo from South Africa and his wife had both apparently contracted the variant.


Reuters | Updated: 01-12-2021 02:10 IST | Created: 01-12-2021 02:10 IST
Brazil reports two cases of Omicron variant, first in Latin America

Brazil's health regulator Anvisa said on Tuesday that laboratory analysis had found two Brazilian cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the first reported cases in Latin America.

Anvisa said a traveler arriving in Sao Paulo from South Africa and his wife had both apparently contracted the variant. The traveler landed at Guarulhos international airport on Nov. 23 with a negative test for COVID-19. But before a planned return trip, the couple tested positive and the samples were sent for further analysis, which identified the Omicron variant.

The samples will be sent for a second confirmatory analysis, the regulator said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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