Coronavirus watch: Second US case of omicron detected

U.S. and New York City health officials said Thursday they were working closely with authorities in Minnesota who reported the nation's second confirmed case of the omicron coronavirus variant.

The first U.S. case was reported in California on Wednesday. The variant was first discovered in South Africa last week and has now been found in about two dozen countries.

The Minnesota Department of Health said a state resident who recently traveled to New York City for a conference was found to be infected with the variant. The man experienced mild symptoms Nov. 22, was tested Nov. 24 and no longer has symptoms.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the conference required masks and complied with the city's vaccination requirements, he said.

"We should assume there is community spread of the variant in our city," de Blasio said. 

It's Thursday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news to know:

• GlaxoSmithKline says its COVID-19 antibody drug appears to be effective against the omicron variant based on initial laboratory testing. On Tuesday, drugmaker Regeneron cautioned that its antibody cocktail appeared to lose effectiveness against omicron.
• Germans who aren’t vaccinated are to be excluded from nonessential stores, cultural and recreational venues, and Germany’s parliament is considering a general vaccine mandate. “The situation in our country is serious," Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
• Patients who have recovered from severe COVID-19 have more than twice the mortality risk within the year following their illness than people who have not contracted the virus, according to a study by University of Florida researchers published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.
• Global case counts are again exceeding 4 million per week, after spending most of October around 3 million per week. One of the biggest increases is in South Africa, the first nation to identify the omicron variant.

📈Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 48.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 782,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 263.6 million cases and 5.2 million deaths. More than 197 million Americans – roughly 59.4% of the population – are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– John Bacon, Paste BN @realjohnbacon