Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency announced this Tuesday afternoon (30) that the omicron variant is in Brazil. At night, the São Paulo government confirmed the first two cases of the strain in the country. Samples taken from two people tested positive for the new Covid strain in a private laboratory test.
The results were later confirmed by the Adolfo Lutz Institute, linked to the state government, according to an interview by the São Paulo State Health Secretary, Jean Gorinchteyn, to CNN. The first results were reported by the Albert Einstein laboratory, in São Paulo, linked to the Albert Einstein hospital. In compliance with national protocols, the material was then sent to Adolfo Lutz.
The exams are from a Brazilian couple who live in South Africa —country where the new strain was identified for the first time— and are visiting Brazil. The man is 41 years old, and the woman, 37. Also according to Gorinchteyn, there are great chances the couple was not immunized against Covid.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon