The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been found in wastewater in Houston, the largest city in the south central U.S. state of Texas, confirming the local spread of the new strain, city officials said on Wednesday.
The city has detected the Omicron variant in eight of its 39 wastewater treatment plants, according to multiple local media outlets.
A woman in her 40s living in Harris County, which covers much of Houston, was identified on Monday as Texas’ first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, according to Texas Department of State Health Services.
The woman was fully vaccinated and did not report any recent travel history, local media reported.
Omicron, first discovered in southern Africa, represents a fresh challenge to global efforts to battle the pandemic with several nations already re-imposing restrictions many had hoped were a thing of the past. It is the latest coronavirus strain to emerge since the start of the pandemic, including the currently dominant Delta variant, which was first detected in India in October 2020.
Britain confirmed its first two infections and suspected new cases emerged in Germany and the Czech Republic, while Dutch authorities quarantined 61 passengers from South Africa who tested positive for Covid-19.
South Africa complained it was being “punished” with air travel bans for first detecting the strain, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has termed a “variant of concern”.
South Korea, Australia and Thailand joined the United States, Brazil, Canada and a host of other countries around the world restricting travel from the region, fearing a major setback to global efforts against the pandemic.
Scientists are racing to determine the threat posed by the heavily mutated strain, which is more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant, and whether it can evade existing vaccines.
Anxious travellers thronged Johannesburg international airport, desperate to squeeze onto the last flights to countries that had imposed sudden travel bans. Many had cut holidays and rushed back from South African safaris and vineyards.
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