‘We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility … it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over.’<\/b>
\nThe omicron variant, a new strain of COVID-19 triggering panic worldwide, could already be in the United States. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Saturday that while there is no indication the mutated virus has made its way over from South Africa, where it was initially detected earlier this week, citizens should take special care and avoid letting their guards down. When asked whether he believed omicron has already arrived in the United States, Fauci said he \u201cwould not be surprised\u201d if it has. \u201cWe have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and you\u2019re already having travel-related cases that they\u2019ve noted in Israel and Belgium and other places, when you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over,\u201d Fauci said during an interview on the \u201cToday\u201d show on Saturday. South Africa\u2019s health minister on Thursday announced the discovery of the variant, which appears to be spreading rapidly across parts of the country. Less than 24 hours later, the World Health Organization designated it as a \u201cvariant of concern,\u201d naming it omicron during an emergency meeting held Friday. While much about omicron is still a mystery, health experts have suggested the latest COVID strain could prove more transmissible and render vaccines less effective. So far, omicron has been found in multiple countries, including Israel and Belgium. And on Saturday, British Health Minister Sajid Javid confirmed two linked cases of the variant have been detected in Britain. Others countries, including the United States and the 27-nation European Union, have since moved to suspend all travel from South Africa. The White House on Friday announced restrictions for travelers from eight African countries slated to go into effect on Monday. Fauci said travel bans are simply a way of buying time given the threat of the virus. \u201cThe issue of blocking travel from a given country is to just give us time to assess it better,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the reason for doing that, not any reason to panic, but we want to give us some time to really fill in the blanks of what we don\u2019t know right now.\u201d Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page. Enter your email and password to access comments. Forgot Password? Don’t have a Talk profile? Create one. Invalid username\/password. Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration. Create a commenting profile by providing an email address, password and display name. You will receive an email to complete the registration. Please note the display name will appear on screen when you participate. Already registered? Log in to join the discussion. Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here\u2019s why. Use the form below to reset your password. When you’ve submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code. Send questions\/comments to the editors.<\/p>\n