The authorities of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, bordering Uruguay and Argentina, announced this Friday the first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in its territory, with what the number of infected with this strain rises to six in all of Brazil.
The regional Health Secretariat confirmed in a note that the positive corresponds to “a woman living in Santa Cruz do Sul” – about 150 kilometers away from Porto Alegre – who “returned from a trip from South Africa in the last week.”
The woman, who “had received the two doses of the vaccine against covid-19”, is isolated at home and “had a fever,” according to the regional authorities of Rio Grande do Sul.
With this, there are already six infected in Brazil with the omicron variant. The first three were reported in Sao Paulo and there have been two others in the Federal District of Brasilia.
In addition, other possible cases with this new SARS-CoV-2 lineage are being investigated in passengers who recently arrived in Brazil from various countries on the African continent.
The omicron was detected and announced by South Africa on November 25 and has been included in the group of “variants of concern” of the World Health Organization (WHO), although little is known about it except that it appears to be more transmissible than its predecessors.
Brazil is, along with the United States and India, one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which already leaves more than 615,000 deaths in the South American country and 22.1 million infections.
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