Spain detects first domestic case of COVID-19 Omicron variant

3/12/2021 6:23

        Regional authorities in Madrid said on Thursday they had detected Spain's first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in a vaccinated person without links
        to risk countries, and were investigating two similar suspected cases.
        
        It was the fifth confirmed case of the variant in Spain, Health Secretary Silvia Calzon told a news conference later in the day - but the first showing Omicron is already circulating independently in the country.
        
        "We're already seeing a handful of cases where transmission happened within a household," Calzon said of the 78 confirmed Omicron cases sequenced in the European Union. "But we still don't know the effectiveness of vaccines against this variant."
        
        On Wednesday, the northeastern region of Catalonia said it had detected potential traces of the Omicron coronavirus variant in sewage samples from late November.