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At least five U.S. states have now confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, as scientists investigate whether the heavily mutated strain is more infectious and virulent. At least 9 cases were confirmed on Thursday in Minnesota, Colorado, New York, Hawaii and California. California confirmed the first U.S. case of omicron on Wednesday, bringing the total number of reported cases so far to 10. (Constantino, Kopecki and Kimball, 12/2)

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced on Thursday that five cases of the COVID-19 omicron variant have been detected in the Empire State. New York is now the fourth state to detect a case of the new variant, following California, Minnesota and Colorado. Hochul revealed during a press conference Thursday that one of the positive cases was identified in Suffolk County and four in New York City, including two in Queens, one in Brooklyn and one from a yet undetermined borough. (Schnell, 12/2)

New York officials have confirmed five cases of the omicron Covid-19 variant in the New York City metropolitan area, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced late Thursday, hours after cases were detected in Minnesota and Colorado. One case was discovered in Suffolk County on Long Island and four New York City: two in Queens, one in Brooklyn and another in the city, she said at a press briefing. Minnesota health authorities confirmed the second U.S. case of the omicron Covid variant earlier Thursday, in a resident who recently returned from New York City. (Constantino, Kopecki and Kimball, 12/2)

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said on Thursday that everyone who attended a recent anime convention in Manhattan should get tested for the coronavirus, after it was announced that an individual who tested positive for the Omicron variant in Minnesota had attended to the conference. Five other cases were reported in New York City and on Long Island, the governor announced later in the day. Those included a 67-year-old woman from Suffolk County who had recently traveled to South Africa, was vaccinated and experienced mild symptoms of Covid-19. (Ferré-Sadurní, 12/2)

Health officials on Thursday reported the country’s second Covid-19 infection from the Omicron variant in a Minnesota resident who notably did not travel internationally recently, unlike the first case. The case in Minnesota is an adult male who had been vaccinated and, in early November, received a booster shot. He lives in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, state health officials said. He developed mild symptoms on Nov. 22, was tested on Nov. 24, and no longer has symptoms. (Joseph, 12/2)

Colorado has identified its first known case of the new omicron variant of COVID-19 in an Arapahoe County resident, but there’s no evidence that version of the virus is widespread at this point — and it’s still not known how great a risk the new strain poses. (Wingerter, 12/2)

After South African scientists alerted the world last week to the new, concerning Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, researchers here in the U.S. warned that the highly mutated strain was likely already circulating on American soil. It was just a matter of time before someone found it. On Thursday, health officials reported the country’s second Omicron infection, in a Minnesota man who attended an anime conference in New York days before his symptoms began. Notably, he had not traveled internationally, unlike the first case — a California resident recently returned from South Africa — indicating the occurrence of domestic transmission. But the timing of discovery has many wondering, “why did it take so long?” (Molteni, 12/2)

Some states are much more likely to catch cases of the Omicron variant early on — including California and Minnesota, which did, in fact, find the first two confirmed U.S. cases. Omicron has thrust the U.S.'s genetic surveillance capabilities back into the spotlight. And the more cases sequenced, the better the chances of finding the variant before it takes off. (Owens, 12/3)