Boulder County Public Health reported Friday that a second Colorado resident who recently traveled abroad has tested positive for the new omicron variant of COVID-19.
Much remains unknown about omicron at this point, though preliminary data from South Africa suggests it may be harder for the immune system to identify, allowing it to more easily infect people who recovered from a different version of the virus that causes COVID-19. That information still needs to be confirmed, though, and scientists are still trying to understand if the new variant is more contagious or causes different symptoms.
Scientists believe that the precautions that work against other variants, including getting vaccinated and wearing masks in public, still offer protection against omicron, though it’s possible some could be less effective than in the past.
Boulder County Public Health said a local health care provider had contacted them after a patient who recently returned from South Africa tested positive for COVID-19. The patient is currently in isolation, and the local health department is working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to contact people who could have been exposed.
Health officials didn’t release any additional information about the traveler, including whether the person had been vaccinated.
The first case in Colorado, reported Thursday, was a vaccinated Arapahoe County woman who recently had returned from visiting multiple countries in southern Africa.
Nine other states and 40 countries have found cases of omicron. Most are linked to travel, though some local transmission has happened in the United States and parts of western Europe, as well as southern Africa. So far, there’s no indication omicron is widespread in Colorado.