NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Public health officials have contacted more than 35,000 attendees of a New York City anime convention to urge them to get tested after a confirmed case of the omicron coronavirus variant was linked to the multi-day event, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
During a White House COVID-19 response briefing, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said that her agency is working with state and local public health authorities to actively investigate confirmed and possible cases of omicron, which has so far been identified in 19 U.S. states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Walensky said the CDC has been assisting health departments from New York City and Minnesota as it investigates attendees of Anime NYC, a three-day anime convention that was held at the Javits Center in Manhattan between Nov. 19 and Nov. 21.
A vaccinated Minnesota man who attended the anime convention became among the first known cases of omicron in the U.S. when his infection was announced on Dec. 2.
The CDC has been in contact with all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C. and 27 countries that had residents who attended the convention to inform them about the ongoing investigation, Walensky said.
“Of the reported 53,000 people who attended that conference, more than 35,000 and counting have been contacted to encourage testing for all attendees,” Walensky said. “Data from this investigation will likely provide one of the earliest looks in this country on the transmissibility of this variant.”
Over the weekend, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Connecticut’s first confirmed omicron case, which also may be linked to the convention. The case involves a vaccinated Hartford-area man in his 60s who has a family member who attended the event. The family member, who is also vaccinated, developed symptoms that have since resolved.
As of Tuesday evening, 14 confirmed cases of omicron had been reported in New York state, including in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. Connecticut has recorded two cases, while New Jersey has had one.
While the omicron variant has sparked global concern recently, the vast majority of the 100,000 COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S. daily are the delta variant, Walensky said during Tuesday's briefing.
As scientists try to determine if omicron is more dangerous than previous variants, U.S. health experts are strongly urging people to get their COVID-19 shots and a booster, saying they believe the vaccine will still offer protection against the new variant.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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