A Minnesota man who was one of the first in the United States to test positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has informed authorities that half of the group he traveled to New York City with has tested positive for the virus. The group of 30, hailing from all over the country, attended an anime convention in New York City in mid-November, and roughly 15 have since contracted COVID-19. Attendees were required to be vaccinated, and it is as yet unclear if the members of the man’s group have been infected with the Omicron variant, thought to be more transmissible than previous versions of the respiratory virus. The variant has now been found in nearly a dozen states.