The confirmation and announcement was made this Tuesday morning. The Covid 19 variant was detected in a 53-year-old man. He was among the 6 samples sent for sequencing. Omicron is indeed circulating on the sister island. The announcement was made this morning by the Réunion Island authorities. The man is 53 years old. He had visited Mozambique and South Africa. He made a stopover in Mauritius before returning to Reunion Island.
That man was on a business trip to Mozambique and South Africa before returning to Reunion Island. He was tested positive on 20 November and showed only mild symptoms. He is currently in isolation, along with his family, and “the man is suffering from muscle pain and fatigue”, says Dr Patrick Mavingui of the Joint Research Unit on Infectious Processes in Tropical Island Environments (PIMIT) in Saint-Denis. On Réunion la Première, Dr Patrick Mavingui added “the closure of borders and flights can avoid a massive influx but I think we will soon discover its presence on our island especially with the sequencing. This is exactly what happened with the last variants in Réunion”.
The other 5 cases were found to be negative for Omicron. Still, more than 60 passengers were on the same plane as him. Flights to and from South Africa have been suspended since Saturday 27 November. Nevertheless, concern remains as the variant spreads more rapidly.
