Long Beach health officials said the city confirmed its first case of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with the new omicron variant.
The person who contracted the variant had returned Nov. 29 after traveling internationally, though not to the Southern African region where the variant was first discovered. The person was fully vaccinated and is asymptomatic.
Los Angeles County health officials reported their third case of the omicron variant yesterday, though that was a different case from the one reported in Long Beach, according to city health department spokeswoman Jennifer Rice Epstein.
Health officials in Long Beach urged the public to get fully vaccinated and a booster shot, to wear masks indoors and at large outdoor gatherings, and get tested when feeling sick.
It is not clear yet whether the omicron variant causes more severe illness or is more transmissible. Health officials around the globe are still studying it.
“This variant may be more contagious, but it is believed that current vaccines should provide some protection against the Omicron variant,” city health officials said in a statement.