As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 782,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 59.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Minnesotan man who is confirmed to have the omicron variant of COVID-19 received a booster shot in early November, health officials said.
The man attended an anime convention at the Javits Center in New York City from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21, and then, after experiencing mild symptoms on Nov. 22, he was tested on Nov. 24. He no longer has symptoms.
"It seems quite possible, perhaps, most likely, that the transmission happened at the convention in New York City, but that's not definitive," health officials said.
The individual had no history of international travel, officials said.
One of the man's close contacts has tested positive via a rapid test, officials said. Further tests to determine if the second individual is also positive for the omicron variant have yet to be conducted.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
The U.K. reported 53,495 new cases on Thursday - the highest single-day rise since July 17, British health officials said.
Hospitalizations in the U.K. are down 6.5% over the last week while deaths are down 3% over the last week, officials said.
Over 80% of the 12-and-over population is fully vaccinated.
Thirty-two cases of the omicron variant have been detected in the U.K.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
As omicron appears to be rapidly overtaking delta as the dominant variant of the novel coronavirus in South Africa, a scientist warned Thursday that the new variant appears to be able to dodge some of the immunity from vaccines and previous infections.
Professor Anne von Gottberg, a clinical microbiologist at South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases, told reporters during an online press briefing that omicron may not be more contagious or virulent than delta, but early data indicates previous infection does not provide protection against omicron as it seems to do with delta.
"We believe that omicron is widespread in the country," von Gottberg said.
South Africa and Botswana were the first countries to identify the omicron variant last month. Since then, South Africa has reported a total of 172 confirmed cases and Botswana has reported 19.
Over the past week, Southern Africa has recorded a spike in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths, mostly driven by South Africa, where scientists believe omicron is rapidly becoming the dominant variant.
"It does look like there is a predominance of omicron throughout the country," von Gottberg said. "Almost 80% of specimens being sequenced in November are omicron. So we believe, truly, there is a link in the increase in cases with omicron variant."
The Minnesota Department of Health said a Minnesota resident with recent travel history to New York City has become the state's first confirmed case of the omicron variant.
The adult male lives in Hennepin County and has been vaccinated.
After experiencing mild symptoms on Nov. 22, he was tested on Nov. 24. He no longer has symptoms.
He attended an anime convention at the Javits Center in Manhattan from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21. Anime NYC said it welcomed 53,000 fans. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state is in touch with health officials in Minnesota and she encouraged any of the 53,000 attendees to get tested.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "we should assume there is community spread of the variant in our city."
"Since the beginning of this pandemic, Minnesota's nation-leading genome sequencing infrastructure and strong testing network have allowed the state to quickly track the COVID-19 virus and better understand its spread. Today, those tools detected a case of the Omicron variant in Minnesota," Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement. "This news is concerning, but it is not a surprise. We know that this virus is highly infectious and moves quickly throughout the world."
Unvaccinated people in Germany will be barred from most businesses, except for grocery stores and pharmacies, officials announced Thursday.
In Germany, shops and restaurants check vaccination status at entrances.
Nearly 69% of Germans are fully vaccinated. The country has reported several cases of the omicron variant.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
Required masks on public transportation, including airplanes, rails and buses, will be extended through March 18, according to a new plan from the Biden administration.
Tighter requirements for travel into the U.S. will go into place early next week, the administration said. The rule calls for proof of a negative test within one day of travel to the U.S. for all passengers, regardless of their vaccination status or nationality.
President Joe Biden also announced a plan Thursday allowing for free rapid tests.
Senior administration officials say the more than 150 million Americans with private insurance will be able to submit for reimbursement to their insurance companies through the same rule that allows tests on site to be covered by insurance. To reach uninsured Americans and those on Medicare or Medicaid, the Biden administration will send 50 million at-home tests to 20,000 federal sites around the country to be handed out for free.
The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor and Treasury Department will put out guidance by Jan. 15 to determine exactly how many tests will be covered and at what frequency, the plan said, and it will not retroactively cover tests already purchased.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett, Justin Gomez
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is directing airlines to provide the agency with the names and contact information of passengers who have entered the United States since Nov. 29 and had been in southern Africa the prior two weeks. Airlines must turn the information over within 24 hours of the flight's arrival into the U.S.
The directive, in effect indefinitely, applies to travelers from the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Zimbabwe.
The order, which does not mention the omicron variant specifically, is to "prevent the importation and spread of a communicable disease of public health importance."
Delta and United are currently the only two carriers that offer flights between the U.S. and countries covered by the CDC order.
ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett, Sam Sweeney and Mina Kaji
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the first detected case of the omicron variant in the U.S. being found in California "is not surprising" due to the state's "aggressive testing protocols" and genomic sequencing.
During a previously scheduled press briefing Wednesday afternoon, he shared a timeline on the San Francisco resident who tested positive for the case. The person left South Africa on Nov. 21 and landed in the U.S. on Nov. 22, developed symptoms a few days later around Nov. 25 and got tested on Nov. 28, he said. The test came back positive on Nov. 29, he said.
On Nov. 30, initial lab testing determined the sample could be omicron, and a full sequencing confirmed it was early Wednesday morning, San Francisco health officials said.
Newsom encouraged Californians to get vaccinated and receive a booster shot as the winter approaches.
The individual who tested positive for the first case of the omicron variant detected in the U.S. had received a full dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine but was not yet eligible for a booster dose, according to San Francisco Department of Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax.
The person developed symptoms upon returning from South Africa, got tested in San Francisco and has since recovered, Colfax told reporters during a briefing Wednesday.
"They did the right thing and got tested and reported their travel history," he said.
Colfax said the case is "not a cause for us to panic," and that San Francisco "is prepared" for this.
The health department has no plans at this time to change its current COVID-19 health orders, Colfax said.
The first case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been identified in California, the California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health said.
The CDC said the person traveled from South Africa on Nov. 22.
The individual tested positive on Nov. 29, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a briefing Wednesday.
The individual, who was fully vaccinated, had mild symptoms that are improving, the CDC said.
"All close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative," the CDC said.
"We knew that it was just a matter of time before the first case of omicron would be detected in the United States," Fauci said.
Fauci cautioned not to read into the mild symptoms of this single case and said the person was fully vaccinated but not boosted.