Omicron in 10 US states; South Africa surges

The omicron variant spread to at least 10 US states after New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Maryland and Nebraska reported infections on Friday. "We absolutely have community spread" of the new strain in the US, Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's top medical adviser, said on Bloomberg Television.

South Africa's daily number of confirmed Covid-19 cases almost quadrupled since Tuesday as omicron spreads across the country.

UBS Group AG is asking its advisory and deals bankers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to avoid traveling for business purposes. The precautionary measure applies to employees in the global banking unit amid the uncertainty surrounding the omicron variant, according to a person familiar with the guidance.

New Jersey identified an infection in a traveler to the state, an adult female from Georgia who is fully vaccinated and had recently traveled to South Africa, according to a statement from Governor Phil Murphy.

Pennsylvania reported one case, a man in his 30s from Philadelphia, city health officials announced. Missouri reported one infection, of a St. Louis resident who had recently traveled domestically.

Maryland reported three cases, all from the Baltimore area, according to a statement from Governor Larry Hogan. Two were in the same household, including a vaccinated person who had traveled to South Africa and an unvaccinated close contact. A third case involved a vaccinated person with no recent travel.

The first case in Nebraska came from an individual who is suspected to have been exposed on a flight from Nigeria on Nov 23, health officials said. Five more cases were likely exposed through household contact.

The new variant has also been found in New York, California, Colorado, Hawaii and Minnesota, which said that a resident who had traveled to an anime convention at Manhattan's Javits Center tested positive.

Omicron, which is spreading across the US, reduces the sensitivity of one genetic target in several molecular tests, the FDA said in an update on its website. That target, which covers a portion of a spike gene, wouldn't pick up the virus-signaling the presence of the new strain.

Rising US omicron cases are guaranteed in the coming days as the highly mutated variant has begun spreading in the community, according to Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's top medical adviser.

"We absolutely have community spread" of the strain in the US, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during an appearance on Bloomberg Television's "Balance of Power with David Westin" on Friday.

"There is no way you are not going to see more and more cases." The looming question, he said, is how omicron will fare when it has to compete in places like the US where the delta strain is prevalent.

"Will it take off and become the dominant variant, or will it get a bit smothered by delta?" Fauci said.