https://www.foxnews.com/health/norway-christmas-largest-omicron-variant-outbreak-outside-south-africa
Norway Christmas party may have sparked largest
omicron variant outbreak outside of South Africa
By , Shiv Sudhakar
Published December 04, 2021
Fox News
Video
A recent Norwegian omicron outbreak
at a Christmas party provides early anecdotal evidence on how the variants
spreads between vaccinated people and the
severity of its symptoms, according to a recent report.
A renewable energy company in Norway
made sure all necessary safety precautions were implemented before hosting
their annual holiday party, including only inviting vaccinated employees and
requiring rapid testing the day prior the party, according to Stian Tvede
Karlsen, a company spokesman.
CONTACT TRACING REVS UP IN SOME
STATES AS OMICRON REACHES U.S.
The party was held at an upscale
Oslo restaurant for approximately 120 people, including several who recently
traveled to South Africa, where the company has a solar panel business.
A health worker takes a swab sample
of a passenger entering the city to test for COVID-19 at a railway station in
Ahmedabad, India, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. India on Thursday confirmed its first
cases of the omicron coronavirus variant in two people and officials said one
arrived from South Africa and the other had no travel history. A top medical
expert urged people to get vaccinated. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Over 50% tested positive for COVID-19, with 13 confirmed
to have the omicron variant, but none of the people have severe symptoms,
according to the Wall Street Journal.
OMICRON VARIANT OF COVID-19 FOUND
IN MULTIPLE US STATES
The outbreak, which appears to be
the world’s biggest omicron outbreak outside of South Africa, is noteworthy
because it occurred among vaccinated people in a country where more than 80%
adults are fully vaccinated, the Journal added.
People lineup to get vaccinated at a
shopping mall in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday Nov. 26, 2021. A new
coronavirus variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a
concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young
people in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. (AP Photo/Denis
Farrell)
Even though the outbreak spread
rapidly, the conditions of the party itself may have contributed, where guests
were talking and mingling in an insulated setting for hours, which are ideal
conditions for a superspreader event, said Alexandra Phelan, an assistant
professor of global and public health law and ethics at
Georgetown University.
A man uses his hand to cover his
nose as he walks along a downtown street Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday,
March 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
She added the outbreak suggests the
current COVID-19 vaccines are not preventing infections, but may prevent severe
disease.
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"If they were of working age and
young enough to be partying into the night, they were already probably at a low
risk," Phelan said. "The big question that this is starting to add
data to, at least anecdotal data, is immune evasion."
