New York State On High Alert For Any Sign Of Omicron COVID Variant - Governor

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2021) New York State health authorities are on high alert but have not detected any cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant yet, Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Friday.

"HealthNYGov (the health authority of New York State) has not found the new Omicron variant in New York State," Hochul wrote on Twitter. "But we are on high alert."

The New York health authorities are cooperating closely with both national and international health authorities to track the spread of the virus, Hochul continued.

"We will continue to actively monitor virus samples and will continue working with CDCGov (the Federal government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (the World Health Organization) to closely follow developments," she added.

The WHO has decided to classify the new coronavirus Omicron variant B.1.1.529 found in South Africa as a variant of concern. It may spread throughout the world in several months, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned.