COVID’s highly infectious omicron variant, first discovered last month in South Africa, was detected this week in Florida.
New coronavirus infections grew for the third week in a row across Florida as the newest, most infectious version of the pathogen spreads statewide. The state logged 12,984 new COVID-19 cases this week, the Florida Department of Health reported Friday, the most since Oct.29. The statewide caseload had been dropping between mid-August and Nov.26. But the virus’ highly infectious omicron variant, first discovered last month in South Africa, was detected this week in Florida. Is it the flu, a cold, or the omicron variant? How to know, and when to get tested for COVID Omicron variant: As omicron variant marches across America, Florida limits locals’ tools to fight it More: More Floridians head to COVID vaccination clinics as omicron looms The omicron strain appears to be five times more infectious than the delta variant, researchers have found. The delta mutation ravaged Florida’s unvaccinated over the summer, killing more people here than anywhere else in America. The severity of the omicron variant’s symptoms is still being studied. Representatives for hospitals across Palm Beach County did not reply Friday to questions asking whether they had detected the omicron variant among patients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that a patient in St. Lucie County had tested positive for omicron. The James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa announced Tuesday that it had detected a case in a patient. Representatives for the state Health Department did not respond to a request to verify whether new omicron cases have been discovered since then. A spokesman for its Palm Beach County Branch, Alex Shaw, replied with a statement that did not answer the question.
