The newly identified omicron variant of the coronavirus has been identified in the United Kingdom a day after the variant was named by the World Health Organization.
At least two cases of the variant were confirmed in the U.K. on Saturday, tweeted Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
“The two cases are linked and there is a connection with travel to southern Africa,” said Javid. “These individuals are self-isolating with their households while further testing and contact tracing is underway.”
No cases have been identified in the United States, though the Biden administration has expressed the belief that the variant will inevitably end up in the country.
The U.S. on Friday announced it would act out of an abundance of caution and restrict travel from southern African countries — where the variant was first identified — Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The restrictions will go into effect Monday.
Travel from the region has also been restricted or suspended by a slew of other countries including Canada, the U.K., Pakistan, EU nations including Austria and France, and Egypt.
The WHO on Friday named the variant after the Greek letter in a meeting focused on the potential problems it could cause around the globe heading into the winter months.
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