Complete genome sequence of a SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant isolated in Northern Germany
The novel isolate was rescued from a nasopharyngeal swab of a male patient without any underlying diseases that had at most minor symptoms at the time of sample collection. The patient contracted the infection from his wife, in whom an infection was diagnosed a few days earlier. Transmission of the omicron variant most likely occured in Northern Germany, as the couple stated not to have left Northern Germany in recent months, in particular they had not traveled to South Africa which is considered the country of origin of the Omikron variant and also reported no known contact with travel returnees or COVID-19 patients.For virus isolation, 500 l of the remaining (not inactivated) swab medium was used for adsorption on Vero E6 cells (ATCC CRL-1008), seeded in a T25 flasks. Adsorption and incubation was performed as described previously (cite HH-1 gene announce). Cells were monitored daily for cytopathic effect and after 48h, a beginning CPE was observed. Virus growth was confirmed by RT-PCR. After one passage on Vero E6 cells, the isolate exhibits a strong CPE after 48 hours of incubation.