MIAMI (WSVN) - A testing lab in Miami-Dade County has confirmed the first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
CardioPath, a private lab in the county, confirmed on Friday the first case came from samples taken from a previously hospitalized patient.
Lab technicians used next-generation sequencing to test the samples and discovered the case.
The lab has since reported the case to the Florida Department of Health.
Due to HIPAA laws, they were unable to divulge the gender, age or any other information related to the patient.
The latest development in the pandemic comes days after cases of the new variant were confirmed in Tampa and St. Lucie County, bringing the total in the Sunshine State to three.
Nearly 20 states have reported cases of the omicron variant. The first U.S. case was reported on Dec. 1.
In South Africa, where doctors first detected the variant, they reported they have evidence that shows it is more easily transmissible than delta.
“We have about two weeks of data now that shows its doubling time is faster than what we saw with the delta variant or the beta variant,” said South African epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim.
Health experts in the U.S. are absorbing as much information as possible about the omicron variant. So far, the data shows symptoms have been mild, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, doctors continue to push for vaccinations, as well as booster shots to those who qualify. They said boosters help increase protection against omicron.
“What we generally know is, the more mutations a variant has, the higher level you need your immunity to be,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, “and so, since omicron has a lot of them, we want to make sure we bolster everybody’s immunity.”
With the delta variant currently being the main threat in the U.S., experts warn there are too many people who are hospitalized and not vaccinated.
“After the winter, you’re either going to be vaccinated, recovering from COVID or dead,” said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University.
Friday evening, a spokesperson for the office of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said CardioPath has sent them a report about the case but did not release additional details.
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