Italy, Germany report cases of omicron covid variant
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LONDON — News reports in Italy and Germany say that both countries have confirmed cases of the omicron covid-19 variant.
The Italian news agency LaPresse says an Italian who traveled to Mozambique has tested positive for the omicron variant.
The business traveler landed in Rome on Nov. 11 and returned to his home near Naples. Five family members, including two school-age children, have also tested positive. All are isolating in the Naples suburb of Caserta in good condition with light symptoms.
The variant was confirmed by Sacco hospital in Milan, and Italy’s National Health Institute said the man had received two doses of the vaccine. Italy’s health ministry is urging all regions to increase its tracing of the virus and sequencing to detect cases of the new variant first identified in South Africa.
In Germany, the Max von Pettenkofer Institute, a Munich-based microbiology center, said that the omicron variant was confirmed in two travelers who arrived on a flight from South Africa on Nov. 24. The head of the institute, Oliver Keppler, said that genome sequencing has yet to be completed, but it is “proven without doubt that it is this variant,” German news agency dpa reported.