Australia records first Omicron community case, authorities hold nerve for now

FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk through a shopping plaza in the city centre, as the state of New South Wales surpasses the 90 percent double-dose coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination target for its population aged 16 and over, in Sydney, Australia, November 9, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia on Friday reported its first community transmission of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, but authorities held steady on a plan to reopen the economy amid hopes it would prove to be milder than previous strains.

The new case, a school student from Sydney, was the first confirmed Omicron infection of a person who had not travelled overseas, a sign the variant was now in the community, authorities in New South Wales state said.