The Chicago Department of Public Health said Friday that people who came to the city after attending an anime convention in New York City should get tested for COVID-19.

       The statement on Twitter did not say why but a Minnesota resident reportedly tested positive for the newly emerging omicron variant after attending the Anime NYC 2021 convention, which took place from Nov. 19 to 21 and drew about 50,000 people.

       First identified by South African scientists in late November, omicron has been deemed the second-most serious type of variant — “variant of concern” — by the World Health Organization. The variant was first detected in the U.S. on Nov. 29 in a San Francisco-area resident who had just returned from South Africa.

       “Chicagoans, if you attended the @animenyc conference at the Javits Center in November, consider getting tested for COVID-19 and, crucially, stay away from others (isolate) if you test positive,” CDPH tweeted.

       Patients wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot at a mobile vaccination station in New York on Thursday. Health officials say multiple cases of the omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in New York, including a man who attended an anime convention in Manhattan in late November and tested positive for the variant when he returned home to Minnesota. (John Minchillo/AP)

       The convention required masks as well as proof of having at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Minnesota man who tested positive for omicron was vaccinated with three doses and experienced mild symptoms, officials in that state said.

       The new variant seems to have a large number of mutations that could mean it’s more transmissible. But much uncertainty remains, such as whether symptoms from the new variant could be more severe or whether the existing coronavirus vaccines are as protective.

       So far, many cases in vaccinated individuals have reportedly resulted in mild symptoms.

       No omicron cases have been reported in Illinois as of Friday afternoon.

       The Associated Press contributed.

       ayin@chicagotribune.com

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