NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced today five confirmed cases of the omicron variant. The cases were reported in Suffolk County on Long Island, two in Queens, one in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan.

Hochul said the Suffolk County case is in a 67-year-old woman who had at least one vaccine shot and just returned from South Africa with mild symptoms. The case in New York City is in another suspected traveler, she said. Officials didn’t yet have any details on the cases in Queens and Brooklyn.

She tweeted: Let me be clear: This is not cause for alarm. We knew this variant was coming and we have the tools to stop the spread. Get your vaccine. Get your booster. Wear your mask.