RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) announced on Sunday, November 28, that a Brazilian man who traveled through South Africa tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival at Guarulhos Airport in São Paulo.
According to ANVISA, the passenger flew with Ethiopian Airlines to Brazil on Saturday, November 27, and presented a negative test performed at the source of the flight, as determined by an interministerial ordinance, and was asymptomatic.
However, a new PCR test performed in an airport laboratory came back positive. The citizen is vaccinated against Covid-19.
After the detection, health authorities were notified by the Agency. “After identification and testing positive for Covid-19, the patient was placed in home isolation. The state and municipal health agencies will monitor the case. The Ministry of Health is following the case,” the agency informed.
Restrictions on travelers coming from African countries are only effective from today, November 29, but ANVISA is working to address the risk of transmission of the Omicron variant.
The B.1.1.529 strain was identified in Botswana, a neighboring country to South Africa, in mid-November. According to the World Health Organization, the variant may become responsible for most of the new coronavirus infection records in South African provinces.
No case of Omicron has yet been reported in Brazil. As a precautionary measure, from this Monday, the federal government decided to restrict the entry of passengers from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini (former Swaziland), Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.