HONOLULU — The omicron coronavirus variant was confirmed Thursday in an unvaccinated Hawaii resident with no recent travel history, state health officials said.
HONOLULU — The omicron coronavirus variant was confirmed Thursday in an unvaccinated Hawaii resident with no recent travel history, state health officials said.
The adult had been infected with COVID-19 a year ago, isn’t currently hospitalized and had “mild-to-moderate” symptoms, including headache, body aches and cough, Hawaii Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble said.
She wouldn’t identify the patient other than to say the person lives on the island of Oahu.
The news came as multiple cases of the omicron variant have been detected in other states, including Minnesota and California.
The U.S. earlier this week announced its first known case of the variant in a vaccinated California resident who had recently traveled to South Africa.
Scientists are trying to determine whether omicron spreads more easily or causes more severe disease than the delta variant that now dominates in the U.S. They are also studying how well the current vaccines work against it.
Scientists in South Africa first reported it, but the samples came from several countries in southern Africa. And health officials in the Netherlands now say it was found there prior to the South Africa detection.
Given the realities of international travel, scientists said it was inevitable that the omicron variant would be discovered in the U.S., and they believe it may have been spreading in the country before it was detected.
Kemble said it was only a matter of time before the variant was detected in Hawaii and that there are likely more cases in the state.
“The implication is that there has been some transmission in the community before this came to our attention,” she said. “Whether that was a single linkage back to a traveler or several degrees of separation, at this point, we do not know that.”
THIS IS SO SAD! We will never get rid of these variants BECAUSE, half of the world will not get vaccinated. I just don’t know how individuals can not be smart enough to get this!
1. Vaccination is FREE
2. Science is CORRECT
3. These variants will cause death to you, your family, your friends and not that you care,
but to strangers….AND GUESS WHAT, these people are un-vaccinated and that is why they are getting it. Or they are ill, and you just gave them a death sentence from your
stubborn uneducated views.
4. Now for the Hawaiian islands, those of you that will not vaccinate and are happy to shut down the islands due to disease. You are still making the Gods angry. You are hurting all your Ohana, worse yet, murdering them! Smarten up!
I think they should cancel travel times after 6:00 pm night. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays, but keep it open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Part time arrivals into the islands whether it be from Mainland, International or inter-islands, is a way to reduce transmission. It’s like a partial lockdown.
Also they should close down all bars at the hotels, malls, and airports. This will limit the spread of the virus. And they should shut down all parks, beaches, and tourist businesses around town until the variant has cleared.
Lastly, they should limit all sporting events. For starters, cancel all high school sports activities. Now. And cancel the Hawai’i Bowl. We don’t need another outbreak in the Delta Variant among travelers to or from Hawai’i.
So a familiar lockdown would be handed down to Hawai’i residents.