Reports of a new COVID-19 variant have sent cities, counties, states, and nations into a frenzy in recent days. First discovered last week in South Africa, health officials say the new Omicron variant appears to be highly transmissible, yet also extremely mild in most of the early case studies. Nevertheless, news of the new variant comes at a time in which Austin Public Health has reported a new uptick in COVID cases.
“Delta is 99-percent, 100 percent of what we’re seeing right now,” said Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes. “It’s the variant of this COVID-19 virus.”
As of Monday, there have still been no reported cases of the Omicron variant in Austin, in Texas, or in the United States.
Despite a lack of reports so far of any domestic cases, health officials do believe the Omicron variant has already made its way into the U.S. Just days ago, cases began cropping up in Canada.
Austin Public Health continues to stress increased vaccination rates to mitigate potential severe symptoms and hospitalizations that could occur from either the Delta or Omicron variant.
