U.S. officials confirmed that the first known case of this new disease was reported in the United States. heavily mutated coronavirus variantThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday that omicron is a California term.

Chief medical advisor to the White House Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that the person was fully vaccinated and had returned from South Africa on November 22. He tested positive for the disease on November 29.

At a White House press conference, he stated that “The patient is self-quarantining” and said all contacts were contacted. He also added that none of these contacts has tested negative. It is encouraging that this patient has not only shown mild symptoms but appears to be showing improvement.

Since South Africa first reported the variant to the World Health OrganizationIt was found in the southeastern United States a week earlier. Canada, U.K., Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, GermanyItaly, Hong Kong and other countries. Global leaders are concerned that the virus may already be widely spread across the globe.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization stated that at least 23 cases of omicron have been reported.

Chief medical advisor to the White House Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that variants would invariably arrive in the United States. Two cases of the variant were found in Ontario, Canada, on Sunday. Initially known as B.1.1.529 the variant was finally identified. first detectedJohannesburg, South Africa’s Gauteng Province.

Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, warned Monday that the omicron virus had already reached other parts of the globe. He pointed out flights which arrived in Amsterdam from South Africa on Friday in which 61 of 624 passengers tested positive for Covid. The Dutch health authorities stated that 14 passengers are currently infected.

Portuguese health officials said Monday that thirteen members of staff and players of a professional football team in Lisbon had contracted the virus after one its players went on a South African trip.

Bancel stated that he also believes it to be present in many countries. “I think most countries which have had direct flights to South Africa for the last 7-10 days may have cases in their country they don’t know about,” Bancel said.

The U.S. imposed a travel banStarting Monday, non-citizens traveling in South Africa or 7 other countries within the last 14 day will not be allowed to enter. Similar travel restrictions have been implemented by the United Kingdom and the European Union.

President Joe Biden said MondayHe is now directing both the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to expedite the approval of potential vaccines against omicron and to get them to market.

Biden spoke at the White House, stating that the current Covid vaccines offer at most some protection against the mutation-prone omicron strain. He also said booster shots could “strengthen this protection significantly.”

Omicron was categorized as “variant of concernThe World Health Organization defined Friday’s “contagious” as a virus that is more contagious and more dangerous than other viruses. It also means it can evade public health precautions, vaccines, or therapeutics. More than 30 mutations have been found in this variant of the spike protein which is what allows the virus into the human body. There are approximately 50 mutations total in the new strain, 10 of which have been made to receptor binding domain. This is the portion that comes into contact first with cells.

Officials warned that some of these mutations may lead to higher antibody resistance or transmissibility and could reduce the effectiveness of Covid vaccinations.

Angelique Coetzee (chair of South African Medical Association) described the symptoms associated with omicron. “extremely mild” so far. Bancel cautioned that South African symptoms may not accurately predict the severity of the variant. This is because less than 5% are over 60, and the number of comorbidities there is far lower than the U.S., Europe and other countries, which tend to have older people and more sicker.

“I believe it is impossible today to know the truth… Bancel expressed doubt that South Africa’s virus epidemic will occur in the next few weeks.

Pharmacists have responded quickly to the new variant. Pfizer BioNTechThey said that they were currently investigating the omicron virus and may adapt their vaccine to suit. Johnson & JohnsonIt stated that it had already tested its vaccine for the variant. ModernaIt said that it would test three candidates for boosters against omicron. This includes a stronger dose of the original Covid booster. A booster dosage will be developed for this variant, the company stated.

— CNBC’s Robert Towey and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.